Captured
by karnythia
Summary: What I want to see happen when Chucas *finally* breaks up. Not for Danloe or Phinie fans. Phloe!
1. Chapter 1

"I can't believe she has the nerve to show her face in here. You'd think she'd have the decency to just leave town." Stephanie muttered angrily, watching as Chloe stepped hesitantly into the Pub.

"She hasn't been in for a few weeks. I guess her show is done." Chelsea shrugged, "What's she going to do? Run away? She lives here."

"Ugh, I guess that's true. It's not like her family is here though, you'd think after everything that's happened she'd want to live someplace that wasn't full of her exes."

Chelsea's gaze slid to Max's face as he showed Chloe to a seat, noting his arched eyebrow she said calmly "Salem's really the only home she ever had from what I've heard. I guess she's determined to stay. She's still got some friends here."

Not giving Stephanie a chance to respond, Chelsea slid out of her chair and walked over to the table where Chloe sat alone with a book and a glass of wine. She stopped a foot away and waited for the other woman to lift her head. When she met Chelsea's gaze Chloe said wearily, "Can we skip the part where you call me a slut? I get it. You hate me, I'm the worst woman on the planet and you hope I rot in Hell. Did I miss anything?"

"You missed the part where I say that I'm sorry. I was angry and I said a bunch of dumb stuff." She gestured at a chair, "Mind if I sit down?"

"Go for it." Closing her book, she shifted uncomfortably, her tone suspicious as she said, "To what do I owe this outburst of forgiveness? I seem to remember you leading the charge to have me run out of town on a rail."

"I talked to Daniel. He made a few points about choices and mistakes." She leaned forward and sighed, "And then Max and I talked. A lot. He pointed out that it wasn't like you'd killed someone. I never should have said those things to you. I've done things that were much worse, and people still stood by me."

"Ah. So, my sins were put into context. Thank you for the apology, but I deserved every word." Staring blindly at the cover of her book she said softly, "I'm the one that ruined everything and I don't even know why."

"So you and Daniel aren't together?" Chelsea frowned, "The way he talks about you I just assumed..."

"That we were going to run off into the sunset together? Yeah...no." She shook her head bemusedly, "I don't know what we thought we were doing, but I'm done jumping into relationships."

"So what are you going to do?" Chelsea let her eyes drift around the room, taking in the stares directed at their table, "Are you heading back to Europe to work?"

Smiling grimly Chloe replied, "And leave all my friends in Salem? Never." She shot a disdainful look around the room, smirking at the sight of Stephanie glaring at her, "This isn't the first time I've been less than popular. I got through it then, and I'll get through it now."

"You'll do more than get through it." Nicole plopped into a chair and leveled a cold stare at Chelsea as she spoke, "All of these people sitting on their high horses in judgment of you might want to remember that they've committed their own sins."

Meeting Nicole's gaze Chelsea said firmly, "We were just discussing life after making a mistake. I was just about to invite Chloe to go shopping with me, would you like to join us?"

Nicole smirked, "I'm sure we could all have a fabulous time. Let me know when and where." She ran a critical eye over Chelsea's hair, "We can make a day of it. Get makeovers, maybe even have lunch?"

Chelsea's smile didn't quite reach her eyes as she replied, "How about tomorrow? I don't have class. We can meet here around 11:00?"

"Sounds perfect." Nicole kept a smile pasted on her face while Chelsea waved a quick goodbye to Chloe before returning to her table. "Three generations and I don't like any of them. That's amazing."

Hiding her face behind her book, Chloe snickered before asking "If you don't like Chelsea why did you agree to go shopping with her?"

"I just wanted to see if she was serious about her invitation. We can always ditch her, though she really needs to see a new hairdresser, those streaks are just terrible." She tapped the table, "Enough about her. How are you? I was starting to think you were never going to come back."

"I told you it was a traveling show. 8 cities in 6 weeks." Her eyes dulled, "It would have been so easy to stay gone, but I'm tired of running away. It feels like that's all I've done for years."

Nicole laughed dryly, "So you're at the point of digging in your heels and making a stand? I love it."

"Enough about me, where's the baby? I figured you'd be parading her up and down the streets of Salem."

"Elizabeth is with her father. He said something about them having their own special day out before I left." She smiled wistfully, "They do that occasionally, he'll take her to the park and tell her stories."

"At least someone has managed to get it right. So, when is the wedding?" Smiling at the look on Nicole's face Chloe continued, "I'm shocked you aren't dragging me out the door right now to pick out a dress."

"That can be part of tomorrow's festivities. So, do you have a place to stay? Or are you at the Inn?"

"I'm subletting a condo near Salem Place." She glanced at her watch, "Speaking of which I need to get over there. I'm having some furniture delivered this afternoon. You want to come help me decorate?"

"Sure. As long as I'm not stuck listening to opera all afternoon." She gathered her things while Chloe paid the check. As they headed for the door she said "So, no Lucas, no Daniel, and for the moment you're less popular than me. Hmm, want to sing at the wedding? I promise to make sure there are no tomatoes."

"You just want your guests to have somewhere else to shoot those dirty looks. But since I'll be getting those either way, I might as well get to do something fun while they're going on." Laughing, they walked out of the Pub together leaving unknowingly leaving chaos in their wake.

"What do you mean you invited her to go shopping? Lucas is your uncle. And we're supposed to be hanging out tomorrow. I don't want to spend all day with those two." Stephanie shook her head angrily, her earrings bouncing against her cheeks "I thought you were mad at her too."

"I was for a while, but she saved my grandmother's life. Besides, Lucas is already trying to patch things up with Sami. I don't think they were going to work even without her relationship with Daniel. I didn't have any problems with her before this happened, and I know what it's like to be the one everyone thinks is worthless."

Max pulled out a chair, spinning it so that he could rest his chin on the back once he sat down. He toyed with Chelsea's hand as he spoke, "I saw you guys talking. That was nice of you."

"We're all," She stressed the word as she looked at Stephanie, "going to go shopping tomorrow. You want to come along and help carry our bags?"

"Did I lose a bet?"

"No."

"Then why would I want to do that?" He glanced up, nodding at Philip as he approached the table "Maybe you can talk him into it."

"Talk me into what?" Dropping a quick kiss on Stephanie's cheek he took the last chair at the table. Examining their faces he said cautiously, "Why do I get the feeling I should say no now?"

"Because you should." He drummed his fingers on the table, "Unless you like playing pack mule. Or have a particular affinity for walking 20 miles in search of the perfect pair of sandals."

"Ah, shopping as an Olympic sport." He lifted an eyebrow, "Did I lose a bet?"

Max burst out laughing just as Chelsea's hand flashed toward him. Dodging her effort to swat him he nearly fell out of his chair as he gasped, "I told you. No one is going to want to schlep around while four women buy 40 bags of shoes."

"Four women?" Philip shook his head, "I am not following you and your sorority sisters all over the place."

"It's not any of our sisters." Chelsea hesitated, staring at the floor she mumbled, "It's Chloe and Nicole."

Philip's jaw tightened, and Stephanie babbled hastily, "I wasn't going to go with them. I know how you feel about her after what she did to Lucas."

"I'm sure Philip is fine with you going," Chelsea replied caustically, "he knows all about making huge mistakes and being forgiven."

Philip's eyes snapped to meet Chelsea's stern gaze and he forced a smile onto his face as he bit out the words "I suppose you have a point. After all, it's your ex-boyfriend that set out to ruin my brother's life."

Chelsea smiled brightly, "At least Lucas didn't have to worry about his daughter's safety."

His lips skinned back from his teeth as he growled, "Do you really want to play this game with me?"

"You started it."

"And I'm finishing it." Max laid a restraining hand on her arm, glaring at Philip as he said "We're all friends here. No need to rub salt in old wounds."

Stephanie smiled at him gratefully, "Right. You guys are friends. Don't do this to each other, especially not over those two. They're not worth it."

"Whatever." Philip stood abruptly, "I've got some work to do. I'll see you later."

Shooting Chelsea an angry look, Stephanie scrambled after him exclaiming, "Do you need some help? You know you shouldn't work so much."

He didn't reply, stalking out of the Pub before she could catch up to him. As she walked back to the table, Chelsea said sharply, "Well, isn't he a ball of sunshine today?"

"Well, how did you expect him to react?" Stephanie's face was forlorn as she slammed her bag back on the table, "You went out of your way to piss him off."

Chelsea rolled her eyes, "After what he did to Shawn and Belle? He has no room to talk about Daniel or Chloe."


	2. Chapter 2

In his car Philip glanced at the clock and decided he didn't want to go back to Titan, instead aiming the vehicle toward the outskirts of Salem. He drove aimlessly, speeding down increasingly rural roads while he fumed silently over Chelsea's words. The ringing of the phone broke his reverie, he tapped the button on his headset and answered curtly, "Kiriakis."

"Hey Bro. It's Austin. Lucas wouldn't happen to be with you, would he?"

"Lucas? No. Why, is something wrong?"

"Yes. No. I don't know. You know Will's birthday was today. He got your gift and Mom's but..."

"But nothing from his parents. Damn. Is he okay?"

"I don't know. He slammed out of here with some friends a few hours ago and he's not answering his phone. I've tried calling every single number I have for Sami and Lucas, but they haven't called me back yet." A frustrated sigh escaped as he said, "I know they don't mean to hurt him, but they do every time they pull this crap."

"Not that I'm defending them, but there's a lot going on right now." Slowing the car to a crawl as he spoke, he blurted out "Between the whole thing with Sami in Witness Protection and what happened with Lucas' engagement to Chloe I guess the date just slipped their minds."

"You know I tried that exact excuse on Will, and hearing you say it? I see why he had to go cool off. Sami's been home for weeks and Lucas had no problem sending pictures of his new house two weeks ago. Will feels like being out of sight means he's totally off their radar and I'm starting to think he's right."

"No, they're just...look I'll go find one of them and get the webcam set up so he can see them." Spinning the wheel to head back into town he continued, "I'm sure it'll all work out."

"I hope you're right. Speaking of Lucas' engagement...how is Chloe?"

"She cheats on your brother and you're worried about her?" Philip's voice rose in disbelief, "I know you're mad at him about the situation with Will, but..."

Austin coughed delicately interrupting his brother's tirade, "It's not about being mad at him. I'm sure it hurt when he found out, but he's got plenty of support. I know what he's going through, I also know what Chloe's going through right now. Remember, I've been on both sides of the fence. Come to think...so have you."

"That was different. I really loved Belle, I wanted to put our family back together. This thing with Daniel and Chloe was completely out of left field."

"Was it? I don't know her that well, but from what Belle said a few weeks ago I didn't get the sense that Chloe was ever all that enthused about marrying him. It sounded to me like he chose to do the same thing with her that he did with Carrie."

"What does that mean? It's his fault she cheated?" Philip grimaced, "Even if she wasn't happy she could have just called it off."

"True, and I'm not saying that Lucas is at fault for her decision. But, just like with Carrie it seems like he decided she was the perfect girl without bothering to pay attention to who she is as a person." Irritation seeped into his voice, "Lucas and Sami have one thing in common...well a lot of things, but one specific thing in common. They tend to develop these dream lives in their heads that have nothing to do with the reality of the person they're with, or want to be with, and that leads them to do all kinds of crazy things in the name of that dream love affair."

"I know Sami did a lot of stuff to you and Carrie, but that was years ago."

"It wasn't just Sami. She went further than he did, but make no mistake Lucas played a major role in a lot of her schemes. Frankly, when I heard he was involved with Chloe I thought it was all another scam to piss off Sami." Lowering his voice Austin continued, "Not to mention a way to get back at you for being fired from Titan."

"Get back at me? How would that...oh...I never looked at it that way." Shifting uncomfortably in his seat, Philip pulled into the driveway of Lucas' home, "I was so angry at her, it never occurred to me to be mad at him."

"I've been there." Austin chuckled, "You were too young to really see a lot of what went on, but for a long time that was how Sami and Lucas managed to keep me and Carrie apart. We always got mad at each other instead of at them. When Carrie married him...well, let's just say even though she knew it was wrong, we still wound up together."

"But you guys had been in love for years. Daniel and Chloe barely knew each other, and she knew he was involved with Mom."

"I thought she broke up with him." Confusion tinged his voice as he said, "And that was after the whole thing with Chelsea. Honestly, I was glad Mom wasn't dating him any more, it sounds like he's just looking to jump from woman to woman. That was part of why I asked about Chloe. I figured by now he's moved on to his next victim and left her to face the music alone. So, how is she holding up?"

"I..uh...we haven't really talked in a while." He rubbed his hand across his face, "In fact I haven't seen her since right after Mom caught them together."

"Dude...you've known each other for years. Do you really want things to end this way?" Disappointment colored his voice, "You've been there, you know what it's like to be the one everyone's judging."

Philip replied ruefully, "Chelsea kind of read me the riot act about that today, and now that I'm talking to you...I see that she had a point. I know Chloe was out of town working for a few weeks, and she's supposed to go shopping with Chelsea, Nicole, and Steph tomorrow."

"Sounds like she's got some friends in her corner. That's good." Austin yawned, "Sorry, I'm trying to wait up for Will, and it's getting on toward dawn here."

"Well, I'm in Lucas' driveway. I don't see his car, but he might have parked in the garage. I'm going to track him down tonight and get him on the phone with Will."

"Works for me." Another yawn slipped out as he said, "At this rate Jacob will be up and I won't get any sleep."

"How's he doing?" Philip laughed, "Still swinging from everything?"

"Of course. Ever since someone," His voice darkened, "who shall remain nameless started sending him superhero comics no vertical surface is safe."

"He needs that slice of Americana." Walking up to the door he said with a laugh, "I wouldn't want him to grow up without the right references."

"Of course not." A loud noise sounded in the background, "Whoops, looks like Will is back. And from the sound of things I'm guessing we need to hold off on the phone call. He's wasted."

"Gotcha. Okay, well I'll still kick their butts about not calling him."

"Thanks. Shit, I have to go. I don't want Jacob to see him acting this way."

"Of course." Philip's voice softened, "Thanks for the kick in the pants."

"That's my job. Night bro."

Turning off his phone, Philip stared blankly at the door for a moment before shaking himself and ringing the bell. He waited impatiently, knocking on the door a few times before going back to his car. He sat inside for a few minutes, trying Sami and Lucas' cell numbers before finally giving up and heading for the Hearth and Home offices. A quick check of the parking lot for Lucas' car left him at loose ends, his stomach rumbling he headed for Tuscany only to find Lucas and Sami outside the restaurant clearly arguing about something.

He took a deep breath before getting out of the car and saying, "So, I know you two are busy fighting about whatever it is you're always fighting about, but you might want to put that on hold long enough to look at a calendar."

"A calendar?" Lucas huffed angrily, "What are you talking about? We don't have time to play some silly game with you Philip, we're discussing something important."

"More important than your oldest son's 18th birthday?" Philip crossed his arms, "I just got off the phone with Austin. Will is really upset."

"Shit." Sami rubbed her eyes wearily, "I meant to call him earlier, I guess the time just got away from me."

"Me too." Shamefaced, Lucas bobbed his head awkwardly in Philip's direction, "Thanks for the heads up. We'll take care of it."

"Good." He started to walk past them into the restaurant only to pull up short at the the sight of Daniel strolling out.

Before he could react Sami said snidely, "Oh this should be good. Isn't he the guy that stole your sex kitten, Lucas?"

Pausing when he heard Lucas' name Daniel replied caustically, "Chloe is no one's sex kitten."

"I'm sorry," Sami laid her hand on her chest, "Would blow up doll be the more accurate term?"

"She's a wonderful woman and you..."

"Need to shut up now." Philip interjected, "Remember Will? Now would be a good time to see about him, after all Austin is trying to wrangle his drunk behind into bed before Jacob sees him."

"Drunk?" A note of concern entered Lucas' voice, "Are you sure he was drinking tonight?"

"Yep, Austin said he was so upset when you guys didn't call or send anything that he stormed out of the house with his friends. He was falling down drunk when he came back." Philip let his gaze drift to Sami, "He seems to think you've forgotten all about him."

"Damn it. I told you that sending him away was a terrible idea." Sami whipped out her phone, "I'm booking him a ticket right now. It's time for him to come home."

"I'll do it. I want to go get him." A frown on his face Lucas looked away and back again before asking, "Do you...do you want to go get him together?"

Putting her phone away, Sami said softly, "That's a good idea. I'll talk to Maggie about taking care of the babies while we're gone."

Watching them walk hand in hand to Lucas' car Philip shook his head, muttering to himself, "I will never understand those two, I swear they break up just to make up."

Daniel sneered, "So much for his great love of Chloe. She deserves so much better." as he strode past Philip.

"This from the guy that dumped her as soon as he got what he wanted?" He snorted, "Oh, that sounds so romantic. Of course, you loved Chelsea and my mother first and we see how those relationships turned out."

"I made some mistakes when I first came to town. That doesn't change the fact that I care deeply for Chloe. We're not together right now, but that's only temporary."

Philip's eyebrow winged upward, his voice frosty as he said, "That game you've been playing since you got here? It's over."

"I'm not playing any games." Derisively, he said, "Not that it is any of your business. Chloe's not a part of your family, in fact I seem to recall you saying very clearly that she was out of your life completely."

"Did I say that?" Philip smirked, "Well, I didn't mean it. Ask anyone, I have a habit of saying things in anger that aren't true."

"We'll see." A feral smile lit Daniel's face, "Personally I think she needs friends that won't turn on her at the drop of a hat."

Philip grinned back, his eyes menacing as he replied "Chloe knows that if she ever needs anything from me...anything at all, that I'll be there for her. No matter what happens between the two of you, I'm not going anywhere." He balled up a fist, "And if you hurt her? You'll wish you'd never been born."

Backing away, Daniel said coldly "Nice words. We'll see whose standing beside her in the end."


	3. Chapter 3

"Darling, are you sure you want to include Elizabeth in your plans for the day?" Peering into the stroller EJ continued, "If you just want a girl's day out she can stay with me."

"It's her first shopping trip! This is an important moment in her life." She stroked a finger along the baby's cheek, "We're going to have a wonderful day picking out some new clothes, and maybe getting a massage."

"A massage?" An amused chuckle slipped out as he said, "Only you would arrange an infant massage session. What did the spa say when you asked about it?"

"They suggested it. You remember what the doctor said about touch being important for infants. I'm going to learn the best way to help her relax when she's upset, and this will be the first of many Mommy and Me days."

"I suppose when she's older you're going to teach her about makeup and boys too." He shook his head, "It'll be left to me to convince her that she never wants to date."

Patting him on the cheek Nicole said with a smirk, "She's going to find a guy just like her Daddy. Sexy, mysterious...it'll be hilarious watching you when she starts going to dances."

"What is this obsession you Americans have with dancing?" He kissed the palm of her hand, "Though I must admit I wouldn't averse to doing a little dancing tonight. Maybe we can go to Tuscany for dinner?"

"Sounds perfect." She kissed him goodbye, before walking away to meet a waiting Chloe.

"He actually drove you two here?" She snickered, "I guess the minivan is the next step hunh?"

Nicole shuddered, "No! No minivans or station wagons. A tasteful Land Rover is more our speed." She glanced around searchingly, "So, where are the Bobsey twins? I thought they'd beat me here for sure."

"I do believe they are over there arguing." Showing her teeth in what could be a smile, Chloe said, "I don't think Stephanie's all that interested in spending her day with us."

Following the direction of Chloe's gaze, Nicole laughed snidely "Do you think we could use one of the chandeliers on the side of her head to better light the dressing rooms?"

Chloe had to choke back her gasp of laughter as Chelsea chose that moment to head their way, Stephanie gloomily trailing along behind her. In the midst of their stilted greetings, Elizabeth cooed delightedly at the sight of the shiny object dangling just out of her reach and the resulting laughter broke some of the tension.

Chatting amiably about window displays, color palettes, baby clothes and possible hairstyles kept the mood light for the next couple of hours. Once the massages and beauty treatments started the conversation turned to Nicole's wedding plans and whether or not she should go someplace warm for her honeymoon. Relaxed and cheerful they headed back toward the center of Salem Place.

"This was so much fun." Chelsea's eyes slid sideways to take in Stephanie's face as she said, "Maybe we could do it again sometime?"

"We could,but..." Letting out a small sigh Chloe said quietly, "I don't want you to keep doing this to prove a point. Especially when I know it's just going to set Kate off."

"Everything sets grandma off." Chelsea ran a hand through her hair, "I thought that I wasn't going to like you. But I do. And I can handle my grandmother."

"And your grandfather?" Her eyebrow arched in disbelief, "In case you missed it? He hates both of us."

"He hates pretty much everyone lately." Chelsea shrugged diffidently, "I've learned to ignore him."

"Yeah, he even yelled at my grandmother a few days ago." Stephanie's voice grew wistful as she said, "Philip's been so busy with work, and trying to get him to see a doctor that we haven't had any time to hang out lately."

"Philip thinks Victor is sick?" Concerned, Chloe's voice rose slightly as she said, "Philip must be a wreck, especially after Kate's cancer."

Hearing the change in Chloe's voice, Stephanie's head snapped up her voice laced with hostility as she spoke, "Philip has been dealing with a lot of stress lately, but I'll take care of him."

Her eyes flat Chloe replied, "Contrary to popular belief I'm not such a slut that I can't be trusted to even ask questions about a man."

Tears sprang to her eyes and she rushed away, leaving Nicole and Chelsea to stare reprovingly at Stephanie. Nicole bit out, "They've known each other for years. Did it even occur to you that she was worried about one of her oldest friends?" before hurrying after Chloe.

Chelsea opened her mouth and Stephanie held up her hand, "I know I screwed up. I just reacted without thinking. Just...give me a minute before you yell at me okay? And yes, when Nicole brings her back I'll apologize."

They stood together in silence while Nicole searched in vain for her friend. Finally she walked back to the two younger women, "I can't find her. I tried calling, but she's not answering her phone."

"Shit. I wasn't...my mouth got away from me." Stephanie peered nervously through the crowd, "Maybe she just headed home."

"That sounds like an excellent idea." Nicole commented dryly as she watched EJ pull up, "Chelsea, if you hear from her first, could you call me?"

"Will do." Watching Nicole and EJ load up the baby, she said softly "Who knew they'd make such a perfect little family?" before turning to walk to the car with Stephanie.

While they made their way home Chloe ran for the docks. Tears blinding her, she didn't see the figure in her way, until he caught her by the arms. "Are you okay? What happened?" He patted her gently, checking for injuries while she struggled to regain control of herself. Finally handing her his handkerchief, he pulled her into an embrace and let her cry into the wisp of cloth.

"I'm fine. I just...I'm being stupid." Wiping away the last of her tears, the familiar smell of his cologne penetrated her emotional fog, "Philip, what...why are you down here?"

"I still come here to think." He leaned back, "Just like you. Though I can't say I've ever seen you this upset. Want to tell me about it?"

She laughed bitterly as she stepped away from him, "You'd just agree with her. Don't worry about it."

"I take it the shopping trip didn't go well?" He stuffed his hands in his pockets, "I'm sorry if Stephanie said something that hurt you. For the record, I wouldn't agree with her. Or with myself and the things I said to you about your relationship with Daniel. Because my hypocrisy does know some limits."

"What is that supposed to mean?" She shook her head wearily, "Don't apologize to me because you saw me upset. I'll get over it."

"I talked to Austin last night. He played the butt kicking older brother until I saw reason. I was going to apologize before I saw the tears, though if you could never cry again? That would be great." His voice dipped, "You know I hate it when you cry."

"I'm a woman. We do that." She looked down, fiddling with the handkerchief for a few seconds, before finally saying "Stephanie mentioned that you're worried about Victor. I could call my Dad, ask him if he has any recommendations."

"Thank you." Gazing out over the water he said quietly, "He saw a neurologist a few days ago, they said the strokes have affected some areas of his brain."

Resting a hand on his arm she asked, "Philip, oh I'm sorry is there anything they can do?"

"Not really. They don't think it's progressive. He's just less able to filter his emotions these days." He glanced down at her hand, "What ridiculous thing did you do to your nails this time?"

"Excuse me?" She pursed her lips, "Are you actually asking me about my manicure?"

"Less depressing than pretty much any other topic of conversation I can think of right now." He laid his hand over hers, "I am really sorry. I said things that I didn't mean and I know that I hurt you. Can you forgive me?"

"The real question is...can you forgive me?" She smiled sadly, "You had every right to be angry, and I deserved every word. The worst part of all of this was losing you."

"Lose me?" He laughed brightly, "Not a chance. I made you a promise a long time ago remember? I'll always," His voice deepened as he stressed the word, "always be here for you. Just ignore whatever dumb stuff I say when I'm angry, you know I don't really mean it."

Impulsively she hugged him, prompting him to wrap his arms around her. They stood like that for several minutes before she murmured against his shirt, "This is a really bad idea."

"Why?" Perplexed he leaned back to look in her eyes, "I feel better than I've felt in days."

"I suspect your girlfriend wouldn't be so understanding." She pulled away slowly, "I don't want to cause any problems between the two of you."

"Didn't we have this same conversation months ago?" He chuckled, "Do you think you're that irresistible?"

She grinned up at him, "No. But, I think Stephanie's that jealous. I don't want her to get the wrong idea."

He grinned back, "You're always going to be part of my life. She'll get used to it."

"So confident." She slapped at him gently, "It's good to know I can always count on your ego being huge."

"Mine?" He let his eyes drift across her face as he said mildly, "I seem to remember someone having a few...larger than life moments over the years. In fact I bet you spent your last show with half the cast forced to bow down in awe as your ego swept through the theater."

Mock outrage colored her face as she said sweetly, "I can just imagine the daily atmosphere at Titan. Have they expanded your office again to accommodate it?"

Growling, he chased a giggling Chloe backward across the pier until exhausted they both flopped on a bench. Gasping for air he declared."I've missed you. Next time I say something so stupid, just slap me instead of leaving me to stew okay?"

"I love that it's my job to knock some sense into you, and not yours to stop saying stupid things." She laughed, "In that case, can you try to knock some sense into me before I actually do something stupid next time?"

"I can try," Philip frowned, "But that would mean telling me that you're thinking of doing it. You've been...uh....you've really been keeping things close to your chest lately."

Chloe took a deep breath and said "Ask."

"What?"

"You want to ask about Daniel and what I did. Go ahead." She shrugged, "I knew the elephant was going to be in the room if we ever spoke again. So, go ahead and ask."

"I think I can guess why you cheated on Lucas." He laughed at the shocked look on her face, "He and Sami are...whatever the hell it is they do. So, I get that you weren't happy. But...Daniel? Why?"

She exhaled slowly, "I don't know. For a while I tried to convince myself that I was falling for him. But...I think I was just unhappy, and he was right there saying all the things I wanted to hear."

"And now?"

"It's done." The corner of her mouth twitched, "I have officially given up on relationships."


	4. Chapter 4

"Hey, do you know the hot guy outside?" Melanie chirped, peering through the Pub's window at a lanky young man slouching against the wall across the way smoking a cigarette.

"That's my cousin Will. I guess they finally brought him home from Switzerland." Noting the excited look on Melanie's face she said bemusedly, "Would you like me to introduce you?"

"What am I, 12?" Melanie whipped out a compact, checking her hair and makeup quickly before dropping it back in her purse. Smoothing her hands over her dress she sauntered toward the door with the words, "I can introduce myself."

"Ugh, what is she up to now?" Stephanie whined, "She always gets that look right before she does something evil."

"She's going to introduce herself to my cousin Will." Chelsea grinned, "And if what they say about guys and their mothers is true, I think you won't have to worry about her flirting with Philip any more."

"Poor Will." Stephanie laughed delightedly, "But it will be nice not to have her in my face all the time at work. She's a venomous little bitch."

"So were we at that age." She turned her gaze away from the window, looking directly at Stephanie as she said, "Some of us still throw on our bitch boots at times."

"I told you. I'm going to apologize to her, but that's a little difficult when I haven't seen her yet." Stephanie grimaced, "It's not my fault she's so melodramatic. I still can't believe she actually ran away."

"I told you, she went to the docks to calm down." Chelsea shrugged, "When Nicole talked to her she was on her way home."

"And she decided to stay in her house for the last two days?" Stephanie rolled her eyes as she spoke, "Way to let things get blown out of proportion."

"She just finished a really grueling tour, and she moved into a new apartment." Twirling a pen in her hand Chelsea said brusquely, "She's got a lot on her plate besides listening to you explain shoving your foot in your mouth up to the knee."

"I see that," Stephanie's voice rose and she pointed at door with her index finger, stabbing the air furiously as she exclaimed "In fact she's got my boyfriend on her plate...look!"

Chelsea turned to see Philip walking into the Pub, laughing as he held the door open for Chloe and bowing while she giggled at his antics. They were so engrossed in their conversation that they walked to a table in the far corner without noticing their audience. Stephanie vaulted to her feet, rage clearly visible on her face. As she hissed, "That treacherous little bitch."

"Before you go over there and manage to swallow your thigh, you might want to calm down."

"Calm down? Did you see them?!"

"Yes. Did you?" She reached out, grabbing her friend's arm and tugging on it until she sat down "They were being silly. Like two old friends having a good time. You're the one that's always complaining about Philip working too much and being too serious. He was laughing Steph, actually laughing out loud. Isn't that a good thing?"

"I guess..." She angled her head trying to see into the corner, "I'd rather be the one making him laugh."

"You can't be everything to him. He needs friends, and after all the bridges he's burned with everyone else I think Chloe's the only one left from high school."

"Why do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Make Philip sound like this...gargoyle. He's a really sweet guy, and you always act like you're expecting him to turn into a werewolf or something."

"That's because he might," Max commented dryly as he walked up to the table, "I told you what he did to Belle and Shawn."

"That was different. He was...confused and hurt. Philip's a really great guy when you get to know him." She peered past him, "Chloe's headed into the ladies room. I'm going to go apologize, and find out what's going on with Philip. He never told me that they made up."

As she hurried away Chelsea murmured softly, "There are none so blind as those who will not see."

Max cocked his head, "What is that supposed to mean?"

"She's so busy turning herself inside out to make this work, that she refuses to see who Philip is as a person." She shook her head, "I just don't see that going anywhere good."

Max lowered his voice, "How could it? He's bounced from woman to woman since he split up with Belle. You would think she'd realize he's just a player after the way he treated Morgan. "

She let out a low whistle, "Did you see him kissing Chloe that day? You never mentioned it."

"Kissing Chloe? What are you talking about? I meant him using Morgan to get information about her father."

"Oh." She leaned forward, "I guess that does explain why he got involved with her even though he was in love with Chloe. At least that's what he told Morgan when she walked in on them kissing in October."

"October? How did Stephanie take it when you told her?"

"I...didn't." She sighed at the disapproving look on his face, "Chloe and Lucas announced that they were engaged and you guys had just broken up. I didn't expect her to get serious about him. I thought they'd go out a few times, maybe make each other feel better about their respective situations and that would be it."

"And now?"

"I don't know if Philip still has feelings for Chloe. Or if Chloe's interested in him at all. So if I say anything and I'm wrong..." She raised her arms slightly, turning her palms outward as she spoke, "Everyone get upset for no reason. Chloe's single now, and Philip's a big boy. If they decide to be together they can do it without my input."

"I thought Stephanie was supposed to be your best friend." He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, "Don't you think you should at least give her a hint?"

"She's already jealous. Even if nothing is going on she'll flip out and start some ridiculous dramatic mess." She smiled at him sweetly, "But hey, if you want to run the risk of her shooting the messenger feel free to go talk to her."

Max's eyes drifted in the direction of the ladies room as he said, "Talking to Stephanie is your job. And if they tear up the bathroom while she's apologizing? You get to explain it to Ma."

Chelsea slid down in her seat with a groan, "I don't care what you do. Nothing is going to make me go in there with them."

"Coward." He took a deep breath, "Okay, so what do we do?"

"Nothing." She took his hand, "This is not our problem."

"True." He entwined his fingers with hers, "Besides, for all we know Chloe and Stephanie are in there becoming good friends."

"Will you be offering to sell me a bridge in Brooklyn next?"

Max's loud guffaw sounded through the restaurant, penetrating the ladies room where Chloe and Stephanie stood facing each other in an uneasy silence.

"Is there a problem?" Wiping her damp hands on a paper towel, Chloe turned away to check her appearance in the mirror.

"No. I was...I owe you an apology for what I said the other day. I really didn't mean for it to come out that way. I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings."

"Are you really?" A brittle smile on her face, Chloe gazed at Stephanie's reflection in the mirror as she said, "Do you know that you are a terrible liar?"

"Excuse me?!" Crossing her arms defensively she snapped, "I'm not a liar, I am sorry if what I said upset you."

"If?" She snorted, "Look, you don't have to pretend with me. It's fine that you think I'm a slut. I've been called worse. And just so we can get this conversation moving? Philip and I are just friends. I'm not trying to come between you two, and I have no problem pretending that we get along in front of him."

"I just came in here to apologize to you. But, since you're feeling so forthcoming I'll take you at your word. Be Philip's friend all you like," She jabbed a finger at Chloe's reflection "just remember that I'm the woman he loves."

Rolling her eyes Chloe walked out. As she took her seat Philip said mildly "So, how did that go?"

"How did what go?" Picking up her menu she struggled to sound casual as she said, "I don't think I want a salad after all. Maybe I'll get the veggie panini."

Philip smirked and pulled down her menu. He looked directly into her eyes as he said, "Do you think I went blind and deaf in the last few minutes? I saw Stephanie go into the ladies room, and I could hear her voice when she got mad. So, what happened?"

"Nothing. We chatted. It's all fine."

"Liar." Pushing back his chair he got to his feet with the words, "I'll talk to her. Make sure she knows that calling you names is not acceptable."

She grabbed at his arm, "No, it wasn't a big deal. We don't really like each other. That's fine. We don't have to be BFF's."

"Chloe..."

"Philip, really it's okay. I don't want to cause problems between you guys. You know I can fight my own battles."

He sat back down slowly, "Are you sure?"

"Yes." She dropped her hand from his arm as Stephanie walked out of the bathroom, making a bee line for their table.

"Hey sweetie!" She threw her arms around his shoulders and cooed in his ear, "I know you guys are hanging out right now. But I feel like I haven't seen you in forever. Maybe we could get together later?"

"Sure." He smiled slightly, "Maybe the five of us can go to the movies tonight? I know Chelsea wants to see that new Liam Neeson movie."

"The one where the girl gets kidnapped?" Stephanie pouted, " I wanted to see Marley and Me."

"Is that the one with the dog?" Walking up to Chloe's side of the table he laid a hand on her shoulder as he said pleasantly, "I guess it could be funny. What do you think honey? You want to see it tonight?"

Shifting uncomfortably in her seat, Chloe cast a nervous look at Philip, "I wouldn't want to be a 5th wheel, so I wasn't going to go."

Stephanie smiled brightly, "Oh the six of us will have a great time. I haven't been on a group date since high school."

"Six of us?" Philip's voice was dark, and Chloe shot a warning glance at Stephanie.

"Sure." Blithely she prattled on, "We're all friends here right? All that icky stuff is water under the bridge now."

"Of course." Dan thrust a hand out to Philip, "We're still god-brothers after all. I'm sure Victor would want us to get along."


	5. Chapter 5

"Remind me, why did I let you talk me into coming tonight?"

"I didn't. I called you looking for ways to get out of this mess, and you decided you wanted front row seats."

"And popcorn." Nicole stepped up to the counter, "Lots and lots of popcorn."

"Why am I your friend?" Chloe asked sardonically, "You just want to watch me suffer."

"Not just you." She glanced over her shoulder at the line leading into the theater where Philip stood glaring balefully at Daniel, "I can't wait to see Dimples flip on the Bobble head. EJ swears she used to be smarter, but he's got to be wrong."

"Just because she thought that inviting all of us to go to the movies together was a good idea doesn't mean she's stupid."

"True. She could have a death wish." Nicole snickered, "This is going to be classic. I hope EJ remembered to bring the camera."

Chloe took a deep breath, "Philip loves her. I'm sure they'll work it out."

Grabbing her order Nicole said mockingly, "And you're supposed to be one of his oldest friends. Did you at least pack a crash helmet?"

Shooting her a dirty look, Chloe picked up the other box and headed back to the line. Daniel stepped forward to take it from her saying, "Here sweetheart, let me take that for you." as he leaned in to kiss her cheek.

Chloe moved aside slightly to avoid him and hissed, "Are you trying to start a fight?"

"I just want to be close to you." His face tightened, "I don't understand why you're still letting the opinions of these people influence our relationship. This is our first chance to have a real date."

"We don't have a relationship." She tugged on his arm, pulling him away from the others to say firmly, "This is not a date, because we are not a couple. I told you, I'm willing to be your friend. That's it."

"Hey you guys, we can go in now!" Stephanie called, waving her arm to attract their attention. As soon as they looked up she took Philip's hand, "We have to hurry up if we're going to get seats together."

Casting a longing look at Chloe, Daniel said "We'll talk about this later." before following the crowd into the theater.

Nicole winked at her mischievously and popped a kernel of popcorn in her mouth as they all made their way to their seats. Walking in last, Chloe found the only available spot was between Philip and Daniel. Groaning to herself, she perched uncomfortably in her chair as the theater darkened. She tried to ignore the tense atmosphere and lose herself in the film, but she wound up staring blankly at the screen while her mind raced.

Motion on her left side brought Chloe's focus back to the room, and she grimaced slightly at the realization that it was Daniel slowly stretching out his arm to put it around her shoulders. Before he finished the motion Philip slid his arm onto the back of her seat. Feeling the tension increase as Daniel pulled away and glared over her head, before placing his arm in the small chunk of space that Philip had left vacant. She poked Philip angrily in the leg only to be met with a bemused smirk and a cocky wink. Frustrated, she slid down in her seat and tried to ignore both men, sipping occasionally from her soda she struggled to pay attention to the movie until her mind drifted away again.

"See, I told you guys that movie was worth it!" Stephanie's chatter broke Chloe's reverie and she looked up to see the credits rolling and lights starting to brighten. "It was so funny."

"Yeah, it was...cute." She glanced past Daniel to see Nicole barely suppressing her laughter, hiding her face in EJ's shoulder while Chelsea and Max struggled to maintain their composure.

"I guess it doesn't quite measure up to opera, but that stuff is so depressing." Stephanie's rolling of her eyes prompted another fit of giggles from Nicole.

Taking a deep breath and resisting the urge to glare, Chloe got to her feet murmuring "It's late. I need to get going."

She started to slide past a still seated Philip, and he braced his leg against the chair in front of him "You can't go now. We're just starting to have some fun."

"If she's tired, then she should get her rest. A voice like hers only comes along once a generation. She needs to take care of it." Daniel said officiously, "I would be happy to take you home."

"That's okay. I wanted to walk and it's not that far." She tried to ease past Philip again, only to be met with a smug smile. "Philip, stop playing. I told you I need to get going."

"And I told you, we're just starting to have some fun." He rose to his feet slowly, and leaned in to whisper "Just go with the program." before stepping back and slinging an arm around her shoulder announcing "Let's go guys. It's way too early to call it a night. Meet us at the Cheating Heart."

Stephanie's glare as they passed her was enough to make Chloe try to pull away, but Philip only tightened his grip. Outside he opened his car door, and guided her into the front seat. Once he took his place in the driver's side she hissed "What are you doing?! Stephanie's going to lose her mind!"

"Is she really?" He grinned, "Good. Maybe next time she'll listen when I tell her not to pull stupid shit."

Chloe blinked, shock coloring her voice as she spoke "I take it you two had a fight?"

"Not exactly." He threw his Porsche into gear, checking his rear view mirror casually before peeling out of the parking lot, "She gave me an ultimatum tonight when I said that she had no business inviting Daniel to come along. Something about staying away from you as long as you're single."

"Ah...you hate ultimatums." Glancing out the window she said, "This isn't the way to the Cheating Heart."

"Nope." He winked at mischievously, "You and I are going to take the long way."

"No." She frowned at him, "I'm not going to be part of whatever little game you're playing here. Just take me home."

"Spoilsport."

"Why? Because I won't strap a new scarlet letter on my chest so that you can make a point to your bobble head girlfriend?!"

"Bobble head?" He snickered, "That one was good, I'm impressed."

"Philip, I'm warning you if you don't stop this car..."

"You'll do what? Yell at me some more?" He snorted, spinning the wheel to turn onto a familiar dirt road "I'm not like your latest lapdog. How do you stand that guy hanging all over you?"

"I broke up with him, remember?" She crossed her arms, "As for hanging all over someone...do you know this might be the first time in months I've seen you without your shadow?"

"Temper temper." He pulled up next to the lake, "At least I like Stephanie. You keep looking at Daniel like he's a bug."

"Philip, what are you doing?"

"I'm parking the car, what does it look like I'm doing?" Shutting off the engine, he lowered his seat and folded his hands behind his head.

"It looks like you're using me to piss off Stephanie." Chloe stared out the window at the water as she said softly, "And the part where you brought me here to do it...you're a real jerk."

"What's so special about here?" Striving to keep his voice neutral, he said "It's just a place we used to hang out."

"Liar." She grimaced, "Look, you want to make a point to her about ultimatums? That's your business, but leave me out of it."

"But you're the reason she did it." He reached up languidly and tugged at the clip in her hair, watching it come undone he said mildly, "You should see your face right now. Between the moonlight and your hair...you look like a Siren."

Ducking her head to hide behind her hair she murmured, "Well at least I have an excuse for destroying so many lives."

"If we're talking about destroying lives? You've got a long way to go to match my count." He pressed a button, lowering her seat until they were face to face, "If that's why you broke up with Daniel...look despite the screaming Lucas and my mother didn't suffer much more than bruised egos. I don't like the guy, but if you do have feelings for him..."

"I do. Just...not the way he wants." She sighed heavily, "I like him. But I'm not in love with him. He keeps saying that he loves me, but he can't possibly mean it."

"What makes you say that?" He grinned, "You've always struck me as the lovable type."

"We barely know each other. Mostly he goes on and on about my singing...it's like he thinks I'm a character from one of my shows." She rested her chin on her hand, "Okay, enough of me whining about my love life. Why are you playing this silly game with Stephanie?"

"It's not silly, I'm..." He broke off, "I don't know what I'm doing. I like her, but she keeps making all of these assumptions and demands and it's driving me crazy."

"Did you tell her that?"

"No." Toying absently with the window lever he said quietly, "I already know how that conversation is going to go."

"What does that mean?"

He laughed bitterly, "We're going to have a fight, she's going to cry, and I'm going to be the bad guy that broke her heart."

"Or you could have a fight, follow it with a rational discussion, and work out your problems." She raised her seat, "Come on. I need to go home and you need to go work on your relationship. If you love each other you should at least try to make it work."

Philip didn't reply, instead raising his seat and looked at her searchingly before turning on the ignition. He drove in silence, and the rhythm of the car soon lulled an emotionally exhausted Chloe to sleep. She awoke in her own bed, a note on the pillow reading "I guess you really were tired. I'll see you tomorrow."

She stared at the piece of paper blankly, trying to parse how she could have been so exhausted. Finally she shrugged and got out of bed. Filling the coffee maker with one hand she checked her phone for messages with the other, to her surprise Lucas' voice poured out of the machine, "Hey Chloe, it's uh...it's me. Lucas I mean. Look, I...uh...I was talking to Carrie while I was in Switzerland. I...shit, this would be better in person. Call me when you get this message. Please."

Frowning at the machine, she picked up the phone and called Nicole, "Hey, Lucas just left me a message. Something about talking to Carrie when he was in Switzerland and wanting me to call him. Do I want to know?"

"You can call him after you tell me what happened last night. We got all the way to the Cheating Heart and you two were nowhere to be found." She laughed darkly, "Little Susie Stupid was all over the place trying to figure out what was going on. She kept trying to get one of us to call your cell phone, and then when Philip finally showed up he wouldn't answer any of her questions either. Just told her you weren't there and that they needed to talk. What did you do last night?"


	6. Chapter 6

"Nothing. He drove, we talked, I fell asleep in the car and he brought me home and put me in my bed." Chloe replied firmly, "I woke up alone this morning."

"Mm-hm, were your clothes still on?"

"Nicole..."

"What? It was a valid question." She lowered her voice, "Seriously, are you okay? Philip looked pretty...odd when he showed up. Did you two finally decide to stop pretending to be friends?"

"We're not pretending. Philip has a lot on his mind and he just wanted to talk." Pulling out her toaster she frowned when she spied the empty bread wrapper,"He's worried about Victor, worried about work, and dealing with Stephanie's little game last night was the last straw."

"Oh good, I was afraid you actually thought she had no idea what kind of trouble she was starting." Nicole clucked her tongue, "Here you had me worried that you were losing your touch."

"She gave Philip an ultimatum...said he couldn't see me while I was still single." Letting out an exasperated sigh Chloe said, "I told him to talk to her, try to work it out, but honestly I think she's not the right person for him."

"So...any idea on who would be the right person? Since you two are just, " Nicole snickered, "what was it...oh right, you're just friends these days."

"Just because I think they're a bad match doesn't mean that I want to be with Philip." Hearing Nicole's snickers turn into loud guffaws she said crisply, "We tried that remember? A few times. We work best as friends."

"You know there's a quote from Buffy that I would throw in here, but I can't remember it properly just now." Amusement colored Nicole's voice as she continued, "But I'll let you keep singing this song while he's getting over the breakup with Bobble Head and find that quote for you later."

"They might work it out." She opened her fridge, and closed it again, pacing around the kitchen while she waited for the coffee to finish brewing. "Stephanie gets on my nerves, but if he loves her then I want him to have that chance to be happy."

"Not a chance. She's not smart enough to stop pushing." Nicole sighed, "Trust me I know the type, she'll drive that boy to the brink with all of her good intentions. Sooner or later he'll get fed up."

"Why is it always the woman's fault when the relationship fails?" Chloe replied sourly, "Can't it ever be his fault?"

The mirth seeped out of Nicole's voice, "So, are you going to call Lucas back?"

"I don't know. That's why I called you, should I?" She set a mug on the counter, yawning as she filled it "He's got every right to be so angry that he never speaks to me again. I don't know why he would even want to see my face again."

"Knowing him, now that he's done yelling and sticking out his chest the little windbag is ready to admit that he made his own share of mistakes. Call him, clear the air. If you're going to stay here you might as well get it over with now, instead of waiting like I did."

"I keep forgetting that you two were married." Taking a sip of her coffee Chloe grimaced and said, "Maybe I can buy him breakfast, I think I've forgotten how to make a decent cup of coffee."

"Call me later, let me know what happened."

"I will. Thanks." Replacing the phone in its cradle, Chloe stared at it for several seconds before taking a deep breath, picking it up and dialing Lucas' number. When he answered she said hurriedly, "I got your message. I'm about to head to the Pub for breakfast. You can meet me there if you like."

"I can be there in 30 minutes. I have to drop Allie off first." Lowering his voice Lucas said softly, "I'm glad you called."

After murmuring a weak, "Goodbye" she hung up the phone and raced to get ready. Pulling her still damp hair up into a quick twist, she dashed out the door and headed for the restaurant. She walked in to find Lucas already seated.

"I went ahead and ordered for you. I know how much you like the pancakes here." He studied her face closely as she sat across from him, "You look good. I thought all the touring would have worn you out."

"It did. I've been doing a lot of sleeping since I got back." Toying with her napkin she said softly, "I am so sorry."

"So am I." He leaned forward, "I sat up talking to Carrie all night, and she asked me some questions that...well let's just say I realize that I had my own part in this mess. So, let's just put it behind us."

"Just like that?" She tilted her head to the side wonderingly, "I expected there to be more arguing or yelling or something...why are you so calm about this now?"

He opened his mouth and closed it again as the waiter approached with their food,"Thanks." Turning his attention back to Chloe he said mildly, "Carrie and I talked. A lot. And she asked me some questions about things with Sami and you before...well before I found out. I still wish you had just been honest and broken things off with me, but I'm not angry any more."

"I kept saying that I was going to tell you, but I thought I should wait until Kate was better and Sami was home. I never wanted you to find out that way, but I just...I chickened out." She poked at her food with her fork, "I never meant to hurt you."

"I know." He forked up a bite of eggs, "Eat your breakfast and stop worrying about it. You're sorry, I'm sorry...we'll be fine."

Chloe smiled at him sweetly, "Thank you. I hope we can be friends again some day."

"No time like the present." He grinned at her, "Besides I have a client that is in love with your voice. I figure getting to meet you would be a good bargaining chip for this new deal."

"Ah, the truth is revealed." She took a bite of her pancakes, and let out a small moan of appreciation before digging into her food. Finishing in just a few minutes she blushed and said, "Sorry, I didn't realize I was so hungry. I fell asleep so early last night, I never did get around to having dinner."

"Someone ought to remind Daniel that he needs to take better care of you."

"Daniel? Why would he...oh, we're not together." She ducked her head, "I thought you knew that we broke it off."

"I didn't know. But I am glad to hear it." He popped a piece of bacon in his mouth, "I've never liked the guy. There's something about him that I just don't trust."

"Well you wouldn't..." She caught herself, "Sorry, I'm very clumsy this morning."

He frowned, "I don't just mean what happened with you. Or what he did to my mother. Something...I can't put my finger on it, but there's something about him."

Chloe shrugged diffidently, "It doesn't matter now. Let's talk about something else. How is Allie? And was that Will I saw the other day?"

"He's back. And...let's just say he is exactly what you would expect of someone with Sami and I for parents." Leaning back in his seat, he continued "Allie is good. Talking up a storm. She...uh...I think she misses you."

"I miss her too." She sighed wistfully, "I really screwed up everything."

"So did I." He wiped his mouth with his napkin, "I have to go to a meeting. But maybe we could do this again sometime? I could bring Allie."

"That would be great. Thanks." She pulled out her wallet, dropping a few bills on the table as she spoke, "Maybe we could take her to get ice cream."

"That would be fun."

"And I could meet that client of yours...get you a really good deal." She winked at him, "I'll even pretend I care about his golf score."

Lucas laughed as he got to his feet, bending to drop a quick kiss on her cheek. "Take care of yourself."

"You too." Chloe sat sipping her coffee, a sad smile on her face until her phone's vibrations interrupted her thoughts. "Hello." Hearing only silence she said again, "Hello?" Still not getting a response she closed the connection. A few seconds later it buzzed again, but stopped before she could answer. Staring at it suspiciously she set it on the table.

"Something wrong?" Max asked, as he stopped next to her holding a steaming coffee pot in one hand. "You look a little upset. I saw Lucas...was the conversation with him that bad?"

"No, he was really sweet. Nicer than I deserved. We're fine. It's my phone." Waving away the silent offer of a refill she said, "I think I must be on some list. I keep getting these calls, but there's never anyone there."

"If it was a sales call wouldn't they say something?" Setting the pot down, Max took her phone and flipped back through the memory, "Are they always the calls from this one that comes up as a blocked number?"

"I think so." Seeing the concerned look on his face she shifted nervously in her seat, "It's no big deal."

"Maybe, maybe not." He set the phone down, "I think you should talk to Bo. Maybe file a police report."

"For phone calls?" She spun the phone with her finger, "It's just dead air. No threats or anything."

"No threats, but by my count you're getting them on average once an hour." Dropping into the seat across from her he asked, "How long have you been getting them?"

"Not long." She counted backwards silently, "It started while I was on tour, so maybe a month?"

Leaning forward Max said sternly, "You've been getting these calls every hour for a month and that doesn't worry you?"

"When you put it that way, I am now. A little bit." She shivered, "Thanks so much Max."

"I'll call Bo." He got to his feet, "Maybe he'll have time to stop by before he goes in this morning."

"I'm sure it isn't that serious." Tapping her phone against the table she said, "It could just be an auto-dialer for some company or whatever. I'll get my number changed. If they keep coming after that...then I'll worry about talking to Bo."

"Are you sure?" Max frowned, "When I was still racing...well you know how fans can be, this could be nothing or it could be a real problem."

"Race car drivers attract a whole different kind of fan." She laughed, "You get all the crazed fan-girls and men that think you're heroes. Opera singers? We get dry old men who want us to come to their parties so they can brag to all their friends about what great patrons of the arts they are while they get their pictures printed in the society pages."

"I guess." He smiled at her, "Still, if anything else happens you have to talk to Bo. Just to be on the safe side."

She gave him a mock salute, "I promise."

He shook his head, "Opera singers...always so militant."

Laughing at him she stuffed her phone in her purse and with a quick wave headed for the door. Outside, the realization that Lucas had forgiven her made her giddy. Delighting in the feel of the sun on her skin Chloe pushed the conversation with Max to the back of her mind and set out for a walk around Salem with a song on her lips.


	7. Chapter 7

"Hey Brady, how's it going?" Sliding a soda across the counter Max continued, "I haven't seen you lately, how's your Dad?"

"He's okay." Frowning slightly he toyed with the straw, making the ice clink against the side of the glass as he spoke, "The treatment is working, but it is slow going. Marlena's right there with him though, so he's in good spirits."

"That's great news. So,why do you look so upset?"

"It's nothing. I just...have a lot on my mind." He glanced around the Pub, "It's quiet in here today. Where is everybody?"

"Chelsea and Steph are at the movies, Mom is upstairs babysitting Sami's kids, and you just missed the dinner rush."

"I don't suppose there's any chili still in the kitchen?"

"There's always chili. Give me a second, and I'll bring you a bowl."

After Max walked away, Brady pulled out his phone and dialed quickly, "I'm at the Pub. We need to talk. I don't care what you have to tell him. You need to get here. Now."

He sat there brooding silently while Max placed his food in front of him. Poking at it desultorily in between bites Brady's dour silence was interrupted when Max slapped his hand on the bar and said firmly, "I can't take it any more, what is going on with you?"

"I told you, I have a lot on my mind." Dropping his spoon into his bowl Brady lied, "It's the fuel project. I think your sister is trying to sell it to the DiMera's."

"I thought that Titan developing it was a done deal." Max frowned, "I'll talk to her. The last thing Melanie needs is to get tangled up with them. They're dangerous."

"Yes...yes they are," Brady broke off when the door opened and Nicole walked in, taking a slow deep breath he murmured so quietly Max almost missed his words, "A girl could get hurt very badly by them."

Watching Brady walk to meet Nicole, Max replied softly, "So could a guy" before shaking his head and clearing away the half empty bowl of chili. He did his best to ignore the intense conversation between them while they stood in the doorway, but Nicole's wild hand gestures kept attracting his eye. Seeing Max's interest Nicole grabbed Brady's arm and hissed something that had him following her as she rushed out of the Pub nearly running into Philip as he approached the door.

"What was that about?" Philip asked as he stepped into the restaurant.

"Your guess is as good as mine." Max's eyes flicked quickly over the other man as he said coldly, "Stephanie's not here."

"I wasn't looking for Stephanie." He paused in his approach, standing with his hands spread in front of him Philip asked calmly, "Is there a problem?"

"You tell me." Swiping at the counter with a damp rag, he snapped "What happened last night? You haul Steph outside to break her heart?"

His jaw clenched Philip replied brusquely, "We needed to talk. How is our relationship any of your business?"

"I care about her. And I know how you treat people." Dropping the cloth, he folded his arms across his chest and said harshly, "Answer the question."

"I did. We had some things to discuss." Philip shrugged nonchalantly, "As for breaking her heart? You'll have to ask Steph about that."

"So you broke up with her? Now what? You decide you're ready to go chase after Chloe?" His face wrinkling in disgust, Max said "Can you be loyal for longer than five minutes?"

"Chase after...we're friends." Rocking forward on his heels, Philip said with a frown "Even if Stephanie and I do break up, Chloe wouldn't have anything to do with that decision."

"Oh, so now you're not in love with her any more?" Max chuckled humorlessly, "That's one hell of a recovery time you've got there man."

"What are you talking about?"

"Chelsea told me about that kiss last year." Whistling softly, he leaned forward to rest his arms on the bar, "I find it hilarious that you jumped all over her for fooling around with Daniel, after you tried to put the moves on her first."

"I wasn't...it just happened." Philip raked a hand through his hair as he spoke, "I decided to do the right thing. I backed off, got out of the way of her relationship with Lucas. I never told her about my feelings."

"And got involved with Steph even though you knew you were in love with someone else." Whacking a hand on the bar Max said sharply, "When you were reading Steph the riot act last night, did it occur to you that just maybe she was right to be concerned about your "friendship" with Chloe?"

"No." Squaring his shoulders, Philip said angrily "Chloe's my friend, and I'll tell you the same thing I told Steph last night. Just because she's important to me that doesn't mean there's anything else going on between us."

"Really?" A knowing smile appeared on Max's face, "Is that why you were ready to tear Dan's arm off at the movies?"

"I don't like the guy. That doesn't mean anything, I don't want him near my mother either."

"Right." Drumming his fingers on the bar, Max said caustically "Why did it take you so long to take Chloe home?"

"We were talking." Philip cocked his head to the side inquisitively, "You know for a guy that's dating my niece you sure are interested in Stephanie's love life. Should I be worrying about your recovery time?"

"I'll always care about her. But we have some insurmountable differences and we both know it." His voice softened, "She's a nice girl and she deserves to be with someone that can really be there for her. If you're really over Chloe and you think you can commit...that's great. But from the outside looking in? You're not the guy."

"I'm trying." He stared at his feet as he spoke, "Doesn't that count for anything?"

"Not if the only reason you're trying is because you think you can't have the woman you really want."

Philip glanced up his mouth curling into a lopsided smile, "Why is everyone so convinced I still have feelings for Chloe? Can't we just be friends?"

"Honestly? I don't think so." Gesturing for Philip to have a seat, Max said crisply "Put it to you this way, if she'd turned to you instead of to Dan when she started having problems with Lucas what would have happened?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, would you have tried to talk her into working things out or would you have helped her pack?" Seeing Philip's hesitation Max said pointedly, "The truth. Not what you think you should say."

"I...probably would have helped her pack." He slumped forward resting his arms on the bar, "But she didn't turn to me. So this whole discussion is moot."

"And you just made my point." Shaking his head, Max said sharply "Stick your head in the sand all you want about Chloe. But leave Steph out of it. What you're doing isn't fair to her at all."

"I'm not doing anything to her. We're dating." Flexing his hand Philip stared at it as he said softly, "That's enough for now."

"And what happens tomorrow?" Max opened two beers and slid one to Philip, "Look, maybe you really are over Chloe, but you don't act like it. And I don't just mean that stunt last night."

"Even if you're right what difference does it make? Chloe's not interested in me and I am interested in moving on." He took a sip of beer, "I have my regrets in life, so does Steph and I'm sure you do too."

"I do." Clinking his bottle against Philip's he took a drink and said quietly, "Breaking Steph's heart is on that list. I'm trying to keep it from being on yours too."

Philip didn't reply, he sat quietly sipping his beer and staring at Max contemplatively until the bottle was finished. Holding it up he said, "I'm going to need more of these if we're going to keep dissecting my love life."

Max chuckled and slid another bottle across the bar, "You know Mom's rule. Hand them over."

Philip held out his key ring, "Who is going to hold onto yours?"

"Hey, I live upstairs." He took a deep swallow of his beer, "And I can never forget that Ma would skin me alive no matter how many of these I have tonight."

As they drank beer after beer Max found himself confiding in Philip, "I know everyone thinks I need to be doing more than working here. But Ma can't run this place alone, and honestly I like knowing that it will stay in the family."

"Nothing wrong with running a family business." Philip shrugged, "I think your father would be proud of you. Unlike my father, Shawn always saw the good in his children."

Max raised an eyebrow as he said, "You shouldn't let your father's approval or disapproval run your life. Dad didn't like it when I decided to race, but I told him that this is my life and I need to live it."

"True." Philip laughed, "I should get that printed on a t-shirt. That's part of the reason things never worked with Chloe and I. Because I kept letting my father interfere in our relationship. That's why its better this way, she can find someone who can actually make her happy. We're better off as good friends."

"Maybe." Max spun his empty bottle in his hand, "Actually, speaking of your friendship with her...could you try to convince her to talk to Bo about those phone calls? She thinks they're nothing, but I have a bad feeling about them."

"Phone calls? What phone calls?"

"She's getting these calls, a lot of calls actually from a blocked number. No messages, and no one answers when she picks up. I think she should report them, but she thinks I'm overreacting. Something about opera fans being different from racing fans."

Philip frowned, "She has no sense of self-preservation. I'll talk to her."

"Talk to who?" Stephanie's voice made them both jump. Turning they found her and Chelsea coming through the door. "Did we interrupt something?"

Philip looked at Max as he said pleasantly, "Chloe. Max is worried about some calls she's been getting."

"Philip, I thought we agreed." Glancing at Max and Chelsea she walked closer to him and lowered her voice, "You weren't going to hang out with her right now."

"I never said that I was going to stop talking to her." He got to his feet, taking her hands in his and leading her further away from Chelsea and Max to say, "This isn't going to work if you can't trust me."

"It's not that I don't trust you." Stephanie pouted, "It's her. Just look at what she did to Brady."

"Look at what I did to Belle." Philip took a deep breath, letting it slowly he said softly "And what I've been doing to you. I'm sorry. This really isn't going to work."

"Philip?" Her lip trembled, "Are you breaking up with me?"

"I...yes." He let go of her hand, "I think...I think it's the right thing to do."


	8. Chapter 8

She stepped away from him, eyes wide as a tear slid down her face, "Just like that? I...was it all a lie? A game?"

"No." Philip reached for her, letting his hand fall to his side when she cringed away from him and hugged herself, "I wanted this to work. I did. But it's not...and I think we both know it."

"It could. But you never gave us a chance. First Melanie and her games and now...let me guess you're choosing Chloe?"

"She has nothing to do with this," He took a deep breath, saying as he exhaled slowly "I told you from the start, I'm a bad bet when it comes to relationships. You want things I cannot give you. It's better that we end this now before someone gets hurt."

"Too late for that." Her face twisted as she sobbed, "I should have listened to my mother. She said we weren't right for each other, but I didn't want to hear it."

Philip didn't reply, instead shrugging helplessly when Chelsea shot him a dirty look. He glanced at Max, who jerked his head at the door as he mouthed "Do you need a cab?"

With a quick shake of his head, Philip walked outside. He strolled slowly toward the docks, the beer making him feel slightly lethargic. A sweet melody penetrated the fog in his mind, and he followed it to the end of a pier. Perched on top of a wooden piling Chloe sat looking out over the water singing something he vaguely recognized as being a love song from one of the operas she was always listening to when they were kids. Making his way to a nearby corner, Philip sat down and closed his eyes while the music washed over him. He listened to her sing aria after aria, until finally she fell silent. When the silence stretched on, and he didn't hear her footsteps he said, "How long have you known I was here?"

"Since you walked onto the pier." A smile laced her voice, "I could feel the vibrations when you were creeping around over there."

He got to his feet, walking slowly towards her shadowy form as he spoke, "So that show was just for me? I'm flattered."

"It wasn't just for you. I was in a mood to sing, and you happened to be around." She peered at him, "You okay?"

"Aren't I always?" He reached up to lift her off the piling, "You're lucky it was me that found you, and not whoever keeps calling your phone."

She let him help her down before saying, "So you were talking to Max, while you downed that keg? Good to know."

"I did not down a keg. I had a few drinks. That's it." He stepped back and paced along a board, "See, I'm sober as a judge."

"Only if you're talking about the Gilbert and Sullivan version." Seeing his confused look she laughed, "Never mind. Are you sure you're okay?"

He stepped closer, "What are you going to do if I'm not? Kiss me and make it all better?"

"Kissing is strictly Stephanie's province."

"Not anymore." He leaned in, deliberately letting his weight rest against her as he spoke, "We tried that whole conversation thing, and it ended just the way I thought it would."

"I'm sorry."

"I'm not." He frowned, "That sounded assholish even to me."

"Good." She put her hands on his chest, "Now, how about I pour you into a cab before I head home?"

"Not a chance." Philip smirked, "Max wanted me to talk to you about your new phone friend. And I will, after I take you home."

"There's really nothing to talk about, it's not like anyone is on the other end." She broke as her phone buzzed, glancing at the screen she said "See if I pick it up right now, there won't be anyone there. It's probably just some computer."

"We'll see." He took it from her hand, "Kiriakis."

"See, I told you there's no one there."

"Yes there is. I can hear them breathing." He ended the connection and pocketed her phone, "That's not a computer. And I'm definitely taking you home."

"Philip," She took a deep breath, "Are you sure that's a good idea? You're drunk and upset about things with Stephanie."

"I am neither drunk nor upset." He cocked his head to the side, "And even if I were both of those things I'd still be taking you home. Let's go."

She rolled her eyes, "You are such a tyrant."

He grinned and took her arm, leading her away from the docks and back onto the street. As they walked his eyes scanned the surrounding area while Chloe fumed silently to herself. Entering her building she said pointedly, "I'm home now. Shouldn't you be calling a cab?"

"Nope." His eyes flicked back the way they'd walked, as she fumbled to retrieve her keys "Your locks are crap. I'll call the house and have Henderson send over some clothes and my laptop."

"You cannot be planning to spend the night." She stomped into her apartment, "I let you walk me home, but now you're being ridiculous."

Philip walked over to the window and lowered the blinds, "There is someone outside. They followed us from the docks. And given the number of times your phone buzzed in my pocket? They're not happy I'm with you."

"It might not be connected." She shuddered, "You're imagining things. Besides I didn't notice anyone following us."

"That's generally the idea." He checked the lock on the front door, "I am not leaving tonight, and we're going to get some better security in place first thing tomorrow morning. Unless you want to find out what kind of games your phone friend plays when he's angry."

"Philip stop it. You're starting to scare me."

"Good." He sat on the coffee table, "Now maybe you'll listen to me. I'm going to have some new locks put on your door, and someone from Titan will install your new alarm system."

"I need a drink." Walking into the kitchen she filled two glasses with juice, "You're very high-handed. Do you know that?"

"You're very stubborn. Do you know that?" He took a glass from her hand as she walked past him "If I didn't insist on the locks being changed and you getting a new security system..."

She sank onto the couch across from him, "I was having such a good day. Are you sure there's someone out there?"

"Oh yes. He's good, he tried to match our footsteps and everything. But I could hear him." He shifted in his seat, "I'll crash here tonight, and tomorrow we can go file a police report."

"You don't have to go to that much trouble. I can take care of myself." She took a swallow of her juice and grimaced, "I really need to go grocery shopping. This stuff tastes funny. I could swear I just bought it."

He set down his glass, "I wasn't thirsty anyway. Are you okay?"

Chloe laughed bitterly, "Lucas finally forgives me, and now I apparently have a stalker. My life, the perpetual roller coaster."

"Don't worry about it. I'll take care of you." Philip brushed her hair back from her face, "But right now you're sitting on my bed. Why don't you go in the other room and try to get some sleep?"

"This couch isn't that long. Why don't I stay out here?" She got to her feet, "I probably won't sleep tonight anyway."

Philip watched her bustle around the room, tidying up their cups and going to a closet to pull out a pillow and some blankets. When she walked back to the couch with them he got to his feet, and took the pile from her hands. Setting it aside, he pulled her into his arms murmuring into her ear, "You're worrying. Stop it. We can sit here and watch a movie, or talk, or whatever until you're relaxed enough to sleep."

"This is my first place that was really all mine. And now..." She rested her cheek on his shoulder, "I'm afraid to go to sleep. It's ridiculous."

"No, it's perfectly normal. Come on, we can use that pitifully small TV of yours for a bit."

They settled on the couch, and he flipped through the channels until he found an old comedy and they watched quietly, giggling occasionally at the antics on-screen. During a commercial she said softly "This is nice. Thank you. I'm actually starting to relax."

"Good." He kissed the top of her head, "You've got nothing to worry about with me around."

The commercial ended and they focused their attention on the screen. When the credits started to roll he glanced down to find Chloe sound asleep against his side. Smiling to himself, he got up to carry her into the bedroom. He tucked a blanket around her before wandering over to look out the glass doors leading to the balcony. He searched for any signs of movement for several minutes, before checking the lock and closing the blinds.

Walking back out to the living room, he pulled out his phone and sent off a few emails before calling and leaving a message for his clothes to be sent over in the morning. Restless he paced around the room several times, before going back into the bedroom to check on Chloe. Finally he gave into his urge to be close to her, taking off his prosthetic and settling on the bed. He dozed fitfully, waking several times to peer around the room, before movement near his side jolted him awake.

"Sorry." Chloe whispered, "I was trying to sneak out without waking you."

He glanced at the clock, "I need to get up anyway. I have a meeting in a couple of hours. And the locksmith should be here soon."

"Thank you." She kissed his cheek, "For being so high-handed."

"I didn't do anything." He pulled on his prosthesis, "Don't start doing that gratitude thing. It's weird."

She watched him walk into the bathroom, before she muttered "If you think that was the weirdest part of last night...maybe we don't know each other as well I thought."

Laying back against the headboard she stared at his pillow blankly for a minute, before picking it up and hugging it to her chest. Knocking distracted Chloe from her efforts to untangle the surge of emotions she'd felt when she awoke to find Philip sprawled on the top of the blanket, stubble dotting his chin and shadows under his eyes. Pushing away feelings she wasn't sure she was ready to examine Chloe hurried to answer the door.

"You guys are fast." she said as the door swung open, only to be greeted with a bouquet of flowers.

"Fast?" Daniel peered around the flowers, "I thought I was slow to just now figure out that you'd like flowers."

Chloe took a deep breath, "Daniel, I thought you were the security company. What brings you by this early?"

"I thought I could tempt you with breakfast." He tried to step into the apartment holding up a bag as he moved closer, "I was hoping we could talk while we eat."

"I...uh..." Chloe glanced over her shoulder, "Now is not a good time."

"I know it's early, but I really think we should talk." He smiled at her, "I don't care if you're in your pajamas."

"Do you care if I'm in mine?" Philip sauntered into the room shirtless, his hair still damp from the shower.


	9. Chapter 9

Daniel's eyes skittered from Chloe's face to Philip's before he ground out stiffly, "I had no idea." Thrusting the flowers and the food at Chloe, he rushed down the stairs and out of the building.

"Shit." She glared at Philip, "That was mean."

"Possibly." He pulled her back into the apartment closing the door and taking the bag and flowers from her, "But given your current situation, I think we want to discourage Daniel's lingering crush as efficiently as possible. And you shouldn't open the door again without looking through the peephole."

"There is no peephole." She pointed at the door, "And that wasn't discouragement, that was the equivalent of a punch to the face."

Philip's eyes grew wistful, "I do like punching him. Maybe you should encourage him a little bit."

Chloe slapped his chest, "You are a horrible person. Did you leave me any hot water?"

"Probably not, but you should go get cleaned up anyway." He watched her walk away before setting Daniel's gifts on the counter and examining them closely, while he muttered to himself "What did you have in mind besides breakfast I wonder?"

Finding nothing untoward in the items, he set them aside and flipped on the television. Keeping a vague eye on the stock ticker at the bottom of the screen, he busied himself with checking email on his PDA until another knock sounded at the door. "Who is it?"

"Sebastian sir. I have your things and there are some gentlemen with me to make those changes you requested."

"Great." He opened the door and waved him in as he said to the other men in the hall, "I need to make an addendum to my instructions. The entire door should be replaced, not just the locks. Something solid. Cameras in the hallway, and I want the windows wired too when you install the alarm."

"Of course Mr. Kiriakis." While the workmen pulled out tools and tape measures, Philip closed the door and took his things from Sebastian. Setting the laptop down he opened the garment bag with his clothes and started getting dressed.

"I'm going to be spending a lot of time here." He glanced at the entertainment center, "Can you have that replaced? And she needs groceries. You know what I prefer, and she still eats the same rabbit food."

"Yes sir." Sebastian's lip twitched, "Does Ms. Lane approve of these...improvements?"

"She has no idea I'm making them." Philip grinned, "But don't worry, I'll be the one to handle her when she finds out."

"Yes sir." He pulled out a pen and a small pad of paper, "Is there anything else sir? Your message said something about her phone?"

"Oh yes." Popping the back open, he pulled out the SIM card. "She needs a new number too. Something with GPS enabled."

"I brought just the thing with me." He took the SIM card from Philip's hand and inserted it into the back of a small sleek device. "Anything else?"

"Find out everything you can about Daniel Jonas." Philip replied as he slipped the new phone into Chloe's purse.

"Yes sir." He hesitated, "I was under the impression that they'd parted on good terms."

"They did." Philip frowned, "But he doesn't seem to like the word no."

"Ms. Lane does tend to inspire a certain level of...devotion." Sebastian's head tilted questioningly, "How long do you think you'll be spending your free time here?"

"As long as it takes." He looped a tie around his neck, "I should have asked you to bring me more clothes."

"I can take care of that this afternoon." Sebastian shook his head disapprovingly, "Not to be too familiar, but I have always been fond of the lady. I would hate for her to be adversely affected by this situation. My sister went through something similar and it was months before she was comfortable sleeping alone."

"Well Chloe dropped right off last night while we were watching TV. She didn't even wake up when I carried her to her room." He shrugged, "I guess all that traveling has her wiped out. She fell asleep in my car and I had to carry her in that night too."

"And she didn't wake up?" Sebastian's frown mirrored Philip's, "I wasn't aware Ms. Lane was such a heavy sleeper."

"She isn't." Philip's gaze fell on the cups sitting by the sink, "She mentioned her juice tasting funny last night. I want it tested, if she emptied the cups the bottle is in the garbage. And I want every edible thing in here tossed. Replace it all."

"Yes sir." Hearing humming coming from the bedroom, Sebastian lowered his voice, "I'll have the results for you as soon as possible. And I'll have the cleaners come in, just to make sure the entire apartment is as it should be."

Philip nodded grimly, "I'll get her out of here. How long will it take?"

"A few hours." He checked his watch, "Certainly we'll be done by noon."

"Great." Plastering a smile on his face, Philip slung his laptop bag over his shoulder and turned toward the bedroom door as Chloe walked out, "Ready to go?"

"Go?" Her eyebrow flew up, "I thought you had a meeting this morning."

"I do." He stuck out his arm, "But first I need some breakfast. And then I need a favor."

"What kind of favor?" She put her hand on his arm, and grabbed her purse from the counter.

"The kind that involves you impressing a new investment partner." Guiding her toward the door he smiled winningly, "He's flying in from Switzerland with his wife. She'll think meeting you is a huge social coup. Especially if you stand next to her in a few photos."

"What is it with you and Lucas using me to impress people?" She grinned at him as they walked down the stairs, "I'm starting to feel a little like a commodity."

"A precious one I hope." He stopped short, "Okay, that came out wrong. And really cheesy."

Laughing, she said "Your lines have really suffered over the years. I could swear they used to be more convincing. What aren't you telling me?"

"You're turning into such a cynic." He opened the car door, "I just wanted to get you outside so you couldn't yell at me when I told you that I was having some things brought over to make your place more comfortable."

She slid into the seat, waiting until he climbed into the driver's side to say "What kind of things?"

"A real TV." He pulled out into traffic, "And something besides rabbit food."

She stared at him in shock, "You spent the night once. Once. And you're replacing my television? Who do you think you are?"

"I'm your friend that doesn't want you to get eyestrain staring at that little thing."

"It is not that small. Just because you're obsessed with having the biggest of everything doesn't mean that everyone wants to be a super consumer. Do you know how terrible those things are for the environment?"

Letting her words flow in one ear and out the other, Philip navigated the vehicle toward the Pub. He made an occasional sound of assent, and when she finally ground to a halt he said sweetly, "Are you done now?"

"Did you listen to a word I said?"

"Yes." He parked the car and looked at her, "But I'm not watching the game on a screen that's barely the size of my laptop."

"Who said you'd be watching the game at my house?" Chloe snarled, shoving open her door "In case you missed it? I like my house just the way it is right now."

"You'll like it even better once Sebastian is finished with it." He slid out of the car, and walked around to her side "Trust me."

She eyed him speculatively, "And if I don't like it?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it." He gestured to the Pub door, "Can we eat now, or do you need to lecture me some more about my carbon footprint?"

"Have I told you lately that you're a jerk?"

"If by lately you mean in the last heartbeat? No."

When she whirled away from him and stalked into the Pub, Philip let his false bravado slide away. Taking out his phone he dialed Sebastian's number quickly, "I know it hasn't been very long, but did you find anything?"

"The cleaners are here." Sebastian's voice was distracted, "The tests on the juice aren't final, but I suspect that it was laced with a sedative. And the lock on the balcony door has been tampered with from the outside."

"Damn." Philip took a deep ragged breath, "I was hoping I was wrong. This is going to scare the Hell out of her."

"Might I suggest that you keep this information to yourself until this evening? By then we'll have top of the line security in place, and any traces of this...person will have been expunged."

"Good idea." He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to see Max standing behind him, "I need to go, but I want you to treat that place like the mansion."

"Yes sir." Sebastian's face was pensive as he closed the connection, he turned to the technician standing on the balcony, "We'll need to replace all the glass."

While he explained the new security guidelines to his crew, Philip tried to smile at Max as he asked, "What's up?"

"You showed up this morning with Chloe and now you're trying to play dumb? Are you kidding me?"

"It's not what you think, I ran into her last night at the docks. I was planning to talk to her about the phone calls anyway, but when I was walking her home I realized that she was being followed."

"By who?" Max turned to look in the Pub window where Chloe sat talking to Chelsea, gesturing angrily "Is she okay?"

"She's fine." Philip followed his gaze, smirking when Chloe glared at him through the window, "Pissed at me, but for once that's a good thing."

"Angry women are never a good thing. What did you do?" Max cocked his head to the side as Chloe made a particularly rude gesture, "It must have been a doozy. Aren't you supposed to be a playboy?"

"I made her mad on purpose, that way she won't notice that I'm hiding something all day."

"She doesn't know you guys were followed last night?"

"Oh that I told her." Philip sighed heavily, "If I tell you what's going on you have to keep it to yourself. Don't say anything to anyone."

"Okay." Concern laced Max's voice, "I knew those phone calls were bad news. Did you find out who was making them?"

"Not yet." Grimly, Philip said "But I did find out that he's been drugging her food. And I think he's been in the house while she was sleeping."


	10. Chapter 10

"Did you call Bo yet?" Max pulled out his phone, "He can get someone over there right now."

"Titan security is handling it."

"But the police should be involved. They could catch this guy."

"And do what?" Philip sneered, "Slap him with a restraining order? What good is a piece of paper?"

"If you're right about someone breaking into her apartment they'll lock him up." Max lowered his voice, "You can't take the law into your own hands."

"Fine, I'll have them turn over whatever they find to the police." Thrusting his hands in his pockets he stared through the window at Chloe, "But if you're wrong? I'll do whatever I have to."

Max followed his gaze, "If I'm wrong? I'll help you."

Philip smirked, "I was expecting you to read me the riot act about last night, not offer to help me."

"You did the right thing. You could have handled it better, but at least you did it." He glanced at Philip's face, "So, do you have a plan to keep her busy?"

"I asked her to go to a meeting later, impress the wife of a business associate." He shrugged, "After that, I'll think of something."

"You could just tell her the truth."

"I will. Later." Philip sighed heavily, "If I tell her now she'll lose it. If I wait until she sees the new security setup, and I spend the night again she might not freak out."

"Gotcha." Max frowned, "Maybe we can help keep her busy. Ma's been talking about having music in the Pub again, so we have some people auditioning later. I can ask Chloe to help us pick our new lineup."

"Good idea." Philip snickered, "That'll have her ranting all the way home."

Following Max into the Pub Philip headed straight for Chloe's side. He swiped her fork out of her hand and ate a mouthful of pancakes. When she frowned, he laughed and stole a sip of her juice. He whispered something in her ear when she tried to take her fork back, and she sighed and pushed the plate toward him. He forked up some fruit and held it out for her to take a bite, grinning when she used the opportunity to steal her fork back.

"Well that answers that question." Chelsea murmured quietly.

"What question?" Max leaned over to steal a strip of her bacon, "Are you doing that thing where you start conversations in your head again?"

"No. Well sort of, we already talked about this remember?" She tilted her head toward Philip and Chloe, "She came in here calling him every kind of jackass under the sun. The second I said something negative she started defending him. Then she started laughing about him being a jerk. Now they're..."

"Ma would call it canoodling." Max laughed, "Want to hear something funny?"

"Sure." She groaned, "A little humor would be good right now."

"They really think that they're just friends."

"They should get out more." She sighed, "Did he tell you about the guy that followed them home last night?"

"Yep. You up for helping me keep her busy this afternoon?"

"Sure." Chelsea frowned, "Wait, why are we trying to keep Chloe busy? What's going on?"

"Nothing." Max pulled her away, saying softly "He's just worried about her being there alone while this is going on. I was going to try to get her to help me with the auditions later."

"You're lying." Chelsea's eyes drifted across the room, "Tell me the truth. You know I'll find out one way or the other."

"You cannot say a word to her if I tell you." He waited until she nodded her assent, "He thinks the guy has been breaking into her apartment while she's out or maybe while she's sleeping. He's installing a whole new security system, but he doesn't want her to know until tonight."

"But if he tells her now..." She broke off as Philip pulled a giggling Chloe to her feet, "He thinks he can keep her from being scared. It's not going to work."

"Probably not." Max shrugged, "But I understand why he's trying. Do you?"

"Yeah." Chelsea leaned her head against his chest and sighed, "I'll help you this afternoon. You do realize that Stephanie's going to flip?"

Wincing Max replied, "Maybe we'll get lucky and she won't be that upset?"

Chelsea's derisive snort of laughter attracted Chloe's attention. She walked over to join them asking, "Hey, what's up?"

"Nothing." Chelsea lied, "Max is roping me into watching the auditions later for the new line up of live musicians. I don't suppose you want to keep me company while I suffer?"

"It could be fun." Chloe smiled, "I'm supposed to go meet someone with Philip, but I'll come by this afternoon. What time?"

Catching Philip's eye Max said "Right after the lunch rush, say 2 o'clock?"

"Sounds good. I'll see you guys later."

Philip flashed a quick grin of gratitude over his shoulder as he followed Chloe out of the Pub. His phone rang just as he started the car, and Chloe stared out the window while Philip argued with someone on the other end. He hung up as they pulled into Titan and said gruffly, "Sorry about that."

"It's okay." She smiled at him as they stepped out of the car, "I know you have work to do. I'll get out of your hair right after this meeting."

"Actually, that phone call was about a story that's going to miss deadline. Apparently our subject got herself locked up last night." He rested his hand on the small of her back and guided her into the building as he said, "I don't suppose you want to do a quick interview and photo shoot?"

"Philip..."

"What? It's a puff piece. Either you do it, or we try to pull something from the archives and spruce it up. For me? Please?"

"I guess so." Chloe eyed him suspiciously, "It just seems very convenient."

Philip kept his tone casual, "Not really. If you weren't around we'd have tried to get someone else to do a phone interview. I mean, who really wants to read about opera singers?"

Chloe's angry retort died in her throat as a small blonde woman came barreling towards them. In a flurry of motion she found herself being dragged in front of a camera, while Philip ambled away to speak to a large dark haired man. "Hi, I'm Ilsa. I can't believe I actually get to meet you."

"It's a pleasure to meet you too." Chloe tried to step away only to find herself caught in an iron grip while the camera flashed, and Ilsa peppered her with questions and comments until finally her husband joined them and cajoled her into leaving Chloe alone. Exhausted she turned to leave only to be greeted by a smiling Philip and a new phalanx of camera people. "Can I at least get a glass of water first?"

"Of course." A smiling red head appeared at her side, "Fizzy or flat? And would you like something to eat before makeup gets started? A salad or a sandwich?"

"Just the water." She forced a smile as the crowd surrounded her and she was guided into a large room, "Flat is fine."

Philip stood in the doorway watching while she steeled herself for a new round of photos and questions. Once he was sure that she was completely engrossed in the interview he walked back to his office and called Sebastian's number. "Did you get my email?"

"I spoke to Commander Brady an hour ago. After he was done expressing his opinion of my tactics he took his own samples as well as copies of our findings." Sebastian coughed delicately, "I am not entirely certain that his techniques will be effective as the ones I have in mind. I did convince him to wait until tomorrow to speak with Ms. Lane."

"Good. Oh, and whatever you have in mind? Get your equipment ready." Philip grimaced, "I hope it won't be necessary, but I want this wrapped up quickly."

"Yes sir."

Philip hung up the phone and did his best to busy himself with work. His mind kept straying, and he finally gave up on being productive and sat looking out the window. A knock at the door jarred him from his reverie and he called "Come in."

"Hey, I just wanted to say goodbye." Chloe said as she walked into his office, "I think I've answered every question under the sun in the last few hours."

"So now you're ready to go listen to aspiring musicians?" Philip's smile didn't quite reach his eyes, "Try to be nice."

"Unlike some people I am capable of tact." She perched on the corner of his desk, "What's wrong? You don't look so good."

"Nothing." His smile was glib, "I'm just tired."

She hopped off the desk, "You should go home and get some rest. What good is being the boss if you can't take a day off when you want to?"

"I wish." He got to his feet, "I have another meeting this afternoon. But I am hungry. Someone was so busy being mean to me this morning I barely had any breakfast."

She stuck out her tongue and he made as if to snatch it, sending Chloe dancing backwards out of his reach. "The only mean one I see is you. Do you know Ilsa talks faster than my mother?"

"Well then that was just a little bit of payback for every conversation I had with Nancy." He shuddered, "I thought she was going to melt my ears that time I brought you home late. 5 minutes and you'd think it was 5 years."

"It was 50 minutes. And I wasn't supposed to be out with you in the first place." Amusement tinged her voice, "And she only yelled at you that night, she yelled at me for days."

They quibbled over who had been yelled at more all the way to the Pub. Bantering about the relative viciousness of their respective parents kept them occupied through their meal. When Philip left a hug and the casual remark, "Decide what you want for dinner and we can pick it up on the way home." Chloe couldn't quite suppress a surge of emotion. It wasn't until she bumped into a grim faced Stephanie that Chloe remembered just how much had changed between them since high school.

"It's not what you think. We were just..."

"It doesn't matter." Stephanie shook her head angrily as she pushed past Chloe on her way to the door, "He made his decision last night."

"All things considered? That went pretty well." Max commented wryly, as he signaled for the first band to set up their equipment.

"Why didn't you stop her? Tell her that she had the wrong idea about Philip and I?" Chloe asked plaintively.

Max faked a cough, using his fist to hide a smirk as he said "I'm sure Philip will be happy to explain everything to her when she sees him later."


	11. Chapter 11

Back at Titan Philip threw himself into work, doing his best to focus on the tasks at hand. After his last meeting of the day he walked back into his office to find Stephanie sitting in the chair behind his desk, twirling a pen between her fingers and staring at the ceiling.

"Imagine how it felt when I came into work and heard that you'd brought your new girlfriend in with you this morning." Lowering her gaze to meet his eyes she said sharply, "Of course I had a little bit of warning, after seeing you two at the Pub today."

"Do you really want to do this right now?" He closed the door behind him, "You know that whatever rumors you heard, she's not my girlfriend."

"Do I?" She dashed away a tear, "Where did you go last night? It wasn't home. I tried to call you."

"I ran into Chloe on the docks. We started talking." He shrugged, "I crashed at her house, but it was totally platonic."

"Platonic?" Stephanie's smile was bitter as she said, "You're not a platonic kind of guy. Even if you're telling the truth right now, I've seen the way you look at her."

"She's important to me." He took the pen from her hand, "So are you."

"You know I think you really mean that." She rose from the chair slowly, "When you tell people we're just friends it'll be the truth. But every time you say that about Chloe? You're lying. And I hate it. Because she tried to warn me, Max tried to warn me, even Melanie tried to warn me. But then, you've been lying to yourself too."

"Steph..."

She held up her hand, "I came in to tell you that I'm quitting. This is just...everyone keeps giving me these looks. And I don't want to deal with their pity every day."

"I'm sorry." He spread his hands in supplication, "I don't want you to quit, but I don't know how to make this better."

"You can't." She walked around the desk and stood on tiptoe to kiss his cheek, "I can."

He dropped into his chair and rested his head in his hands. A few minutes after she left the room Brady sauntered into his office, "You look like Hell."

"Gee thanks. I can't believe you're supposed to be the polite one."

"I am very polite. For instance right now? I'm pretending that I didn't see Stephanie in the elevator with a box under her arm."

"She quit today." He rested his chin in his hand, "I'm pretty sure she hates me."

"Did she say that?" His head tilted inquisitively, Brady took a seat across from Philip.

"No." He leaned back in his chair, "She was actually fairly pleasant. But in her shoes I'd hate me."

"What did you do now?"

"I broke up with her. She seems to think it was because of Chloe."

"Was it?" Brady shifted in his seat, "I heard she was here this morning."

"She was just doing me a favor." He eyed Brady curiously, "Why the sudden concern about my love life? Or is this about yours?"

"I just wondered why you were in here looking pitiful." Brady smirked, "As for my love life? I don't have one."

"Is that why I saw you with Nicole the other day?" Philip laughed, "Take it from someone who knows, fooling around with engaged women is a bad idea. Especially when her fiancé is someone like EJ."

"We're friends. We had some things to discuss that day at the Pub."

Laughing Philip replied, "And people say that Chloe and I are fooling ourselves."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that when you need back up to fend off the wrath of DiMeras you should give me a call." Philip got to his feet and thrust out his hand to Brady, "You have my word I'll do my best to make sure that you don't wind up like your Dad."

Brady took his hand, shaking it firmly as he replied, "And you have my word that I'll never need your help. I've had plenty of time to learn from my father's mistakes."

Philip arched one eyebrow in disbelief, "Unless you've got resources I don't know about I think you're going to need help eventually."

Shrugging casually Brady replied, "I'll keep your offer in mind. But I don't plan to let the DiMeras get near me."

Philip wisely decided to keep his mouth shut, instead gathering his things and following Brady out of his office and onto the elevator without further comment. They parted ways with a silent nod, and Philip found himself musing about the possibility of one day actually being friends with Brady as he drove to the Pub. To his surprise Chloe was dancing with Max when he walked in while Chelsea watched with a bemused smile on her face. A twinge of jealousy brought him up short, and he found himself glaring at Max when he spun a laughing Chloe into a dip.

Sensing his presence Max glanced up and said with a knowing smile, "Looks like someone wants to cut in."

Chelsea hopped out of her chair struggling to contain her laughter at the sight of the baleful look on Philip's face as she said, "Oh I think my favorite uncle wants to dance with me. Come on, it'll be fun!"

Philip's glare swung between her face and Max's, prompting Chloe to right herself and say hurriedly, "He didn't get much sleep last night. He's exhausted. We should get going."

"Spoilsports. We were just starting to have some fun."

"Try dancing with each other." Philip replied gruffly as Chloe stepped away to grab her purse.

"What a wonderful idea." Chelsea smiled sweetly, "You guys should try it. Come on, just one dance?"

"I told you he's exhausted." Laying a hand on his arm Chloe said softly, "I'm ready when you are Philip."

Wrapping an arm around her waist he pulled her into a slightly clumsy spin around the room, before leading her to the door and waving goodbye. She flashed him a cheeky grin as they walked toward his car, and he said "Telling people I'm too tired to dance. What were you thinking?"

"Erm, that you're tired?" Sliding into the front seat, she added "You looked so grouchy I thought you would appreciate getting out of there."

"Grouchy?" He snorted disapprovingly, "I'm not a Muppet."

"No. Even Oscar can go five minutes without being contrary." She crossed her arms, staring out the window at the scenery as he drove, "What is wrong with you today?"

Philip took a deep breath as he pulled into a parking space. He got out of the car slowly, trudging gloomily behind Chloe as she stalked to the door. Pulling out the envelope Sebastian had given him, he handed her a slip of paper and a ring bearing a single key with the words, "Punch those numbers in before you try opening the lock."

Perplexed she took the slip of paper and read it carefully before punching in the numbers. Her eyes flitted around the entryway taking in the tiny cameras and the carefully placed mirrors as she inserted the key in the lock. The sound of bolts slamming open made her flinch and she said softly, "Philip, what did Sebastian do before he came to work at Titan?"

"He was a private bodyguard." Putting his hand on the small of her back he guided into the apartment, closing and locking the door behind him he pointed to a panel on the wall "You need to enter the code again."

Chloe followed his instructions, waiting until the sound of bolts slamming into place had faded before saying "Don't you think this is overkill? I mean the guy followed me home, it's not like he tried to kick in the door."

"Actually...maybe you should sit down." He led her to the couch, and took a seat across from her. Taking her hands in his, he said, "He's been in your apartment. I don't know how often, but at least once and probably more than that."


	12. Chapter 12

"What are you talking about? No one's been in here, I'd have noticed if anything were missing."

"That's the thing." Philip's voice shook as he said, "He snuck in to leave things here. Sedatives in your food mostly, but Sebastian's guys also found some places where he tampered with the walls and the light fixtures. They think...they think he was planning to sneak in cameras for when he couldn't be here with you."

Chloe opened and closed her mouth soundlessly, tears streaming down her face she finally forced out "Be here with me? Sedatives?! Philip, what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that the reason your juice tasted funny is because it was full of drugs to knock you out. Remember that night you fell asleep in my car and I put you in your bed? Whatever you ate before you met us at the movie theater was tainted. It made you sleep so soundly, and I think after I left...I think he came in through the balcony doors."

Jerking her hands away Chloe jumped to her feet and bolted for the bathroom. Philip went into the kitchen and filled a glass with ice. He took a bottle from the cabinet and cracked the seal carefully, before pouring a small amount. When Chloe walked back into the room he handed her the glass and said quietly, "Drink this, it'll help steady your nerves."

"Philip I..."

"Sebastian replaced everything. This is from a new bottle of vodka. Drink it."

Her hands trembled as she took it, the ice clinking against the sides of the cup as she struggled to bring it to her lips without spilling it. Philip reached out to steady her hand, holding the cup to her lips until the shaking stopped and she was able to gulp down the liquor. "Thanks. I needed that."

"Do you want another one?"

"No." She shook her head slowly, "I'm having a hard enough time focusing right now. Someone's been in my house. And I never even noticed."

"He was very careful not to leave a trace. According to the lab the sedatives were in fairly small quantities so you weren't likely to overdose, but if you were to drink enough juice or milk you'd fall asleep."

"And then what? He'd sneak in and do...what was he doing?" She frowned, "Even if I was drugged I think I'd notice if someone...touched me. He didn't take anything, so what was he doing?"

"Watching you." Philip walked to the window, "Sebastian has a theory that your stalker has convinced himself that as long as you don't know he's been here then he's not doing anything wrong."

Shuddering she walked over to stand next to him, "He could be out there right now."

Cupping her cheek gently in his hand Philip said firmly, "It doesn't matter where he is right now, he's never going to get near you again."

She leaned into him, "What happens now?"

"Bo wants to interview you tomorrow. And you're going to have to put up with me being here a lot. Sebastian left me a few things that I'll need." He gestured at the giant television bolted to the far wall, "There will be sports involved, and video games."

"No, there will be opera and PBS. Possibly Tetris." She frowned, "Is this why you were acting so funny all day? Did Sebastian say something this morning?"

"We both suspected it, but I didn't know for sure until we got to the Pub." He rested his chin on her head, "I didn't want to tell you until we got this place squared away."

"I can't stay inside for the rest of my life." She pulled away, turning to walk into the kitchen. Opening the cabinet doors she stared at all the unopened food and said softly, "Or live off the food Sebastian's sending over. What am I going to do Philip?"

"You are going to keep leading your life. Between the Salem PD and Titan this creep doesn't stand a chance." He moved to stand behind her, "Now, I'm going to make dinner and you're going to go watch some of that PBS stuff."

Chloe tilted her head backward to look up at him, "You're cooking dinner? I don't think so. I prefer that my stomach and I stay on speaking terms."

"Hey, I'm a great cook." He stuck out his chest, "You've never had spaghetti like mine. Now go relax, and I'll take care of everything."

Against her better judgment Chloe let Philip talk her into watching TV while he cooked dinner. She sat on the couch and tried to ignore the muffled bumps and curses emanating from the other room. Telling herself quietly, "As long as the smoke alarm doesn't go off it'll be fine." Flipping through the channels until she found a documentary that looked interesting, she got so engrossed in the story she didn't notice that dinner was ready until Philip set a bowl heaped with noodles and sauce in front of her.

They ate in a companionable silence, Chloe making surprised noises of pleasure while Philip divided his attention between the food and the show. He waited until the show was over to ask, "Do you feel better now?"

"A little." She held up her bowl, "This was really good. Thank you."

Grinning cockily he replied, "And to think you doubted me."

"I didn't doubt you. Not exactly. I was just...being cautious."

Taking her bowl, Philip said smugly, "I was going to make dessert, but I'm not so sure you deserve it."

"Withholding dessert? You're definitely sleeping on the couch." She turned off the television, "Actually before we have dessert or anything else, we should probably talk about how we're going to handle this arrangement."

Walking into the kitchen with the bowls Philip replied over his shoulder, "What's to discuss? We hang out, I spend my nights here until they catch the creep. Life goes on."

"Well there is only the one bedroom." She took a deep breath and said in a rush, "I thought maybe we should share the bed instead of one of us sleeping on the couch. Just so we can both be comfortable."

"Okay." He stuck his head out of the kitchen, "You know I don't snore. And as long as you don't do that thing where you steal the covers and pretend to be innocent it'll be fine."

"This from the guy that throws the covers off 8 times a night?"

"You're doing it again." He strolled back into the room bearing a plate filled with tiny cupcakes. Holding it just out of her reach he said slyly, "Now, what was that you were saying about blankets?"

"We should have an extra one at the foot of the bed?" She reached for the nearest confection, "I know you didn't make these, where did they come from?"

"A bakery in Chicago." Setting the plate down, he popped one frosted to look like a sunflower in his mouth. "I had them at a meeting months ago. I thought you'd like them too."

She ate three of them before murmuring, "Living with you is going to make me huge. These things are addictive."

"I've seen you work out. You'll be fine."

She smiled at him nervously, "Do you really think so? This guy...I can't stand knowing that he's been in my house."

"He won't get near you again." Hugging her tightly Philip rubbed small circles into her back as he said soothingly, "Why don't you go take a hot bath? I'll clean up out here, and we can get some sleep."

"Are you sure?" She sat up, "It doesn't seem fair to make you clean up after you made dinner."

"It's fine. Ten minutes loading the dishwasher isn't exactly difficult." He smiled at her, "Go on, you know you're dying to soak."

She rolled her eyes at him, "Somewhere in there you're making fun of me. I know it even if I can't prove it."

Waiting until he heard the water start running to go through Sebastian's care package, Philip made quick work of putting away his clothes before pulling out a stack of small lock boxes. He opened each and checked everything carefully, before opening the closet door and hiding one on the top shelf. After placing another box in a cabinet in the kitchen he crept into the bedroom and placed the last box under the bed in a small niche hidden in the bed's new frame. Glancing toward the bathroom door he got undressed and into a pair of pajama pants, before setting himself up in the bed with his laptop.

A robe tied snugly around her waist Chloe walked into the bedroom and said crisply, "You know I hate it when you work in bed."

Smirking he raised his eyes from the screen and said, "And I hate it when you wear that hideous robe. Guess we're even."

"There is nothing wrong with this robe. And you never said hated this one, you said..." She blushed, "Never mind. I'm ready to go to bed. Are you?"

"Yes dear." He closed the lid of his computer and set it on the floor, "Don't forget the extra blanket."

"Yes dear." She turned her back and let her robe slide off, smiling smugly when she turned to see him struggling to keep his eyes averted, "Don't forget to turn off the light."


	13. Chapter 13

Chloe's amusement at Philip's discomfort was short-lived, as her mind kept racing long after the lights were out. Finally giving up on the possibility of sleep, she slipped out of bed and wandered back into the living room. Digging in her purse for her unfinished book she found the replacement phone. She stared at it for a minute, before going back into the bedroom and sitting next to Philip. She traced the planes of his face delicately with the tip of her finger, before leaning over to kiss him on the cheek.

"Keep that up and neither one of us will get any sleep." He pulled her down, adjusting position so that her head was pillowed on his chest. "You okay?"

"I can't sleep." Curling her hand into a loose fist she rested it on his stomach as she continued, "I found my new phone. You didn't even tell me you replaced the other one."

"I meant to." He stroked her hair, "It's unlisted and I switched the cards so you call everyone, but no one can call you without you giving them your number."

"This is...you've done so much for me." She twisted her head to look up at him, "Why?"

"It's all part of the package." He reached down to pull the blanket up over her shoulders, "Try to get some rest."

The sound of Philip's heartbeat, the rhythmic stroking of his hand in her hair, and the sound of his breathing all combined to lull Chloe into a dreamless sleep. She awoke the next morning to find Philip's fingers interlaced with hers, their joined hands resting over his heart. Sliding her hand away slowly, she flexed her fingers and slipped quietly out of bed. Bending to pick up her robe her mind flashed back to the night before and she stood holding it loosely in her hand for several seconds before muttering to herself, "You've been down this road, you know it's a dead end." and hanging it on a hook in the closet.

Behind her Philip feigned sleep, keeping his eyes half closed and watching her pull out clothes and head into the bathroom before he sat up. Her words ran through his mind, as he swung out of bed and put on his prosthesis. Running a hand over his face, he stared ruefully at the robe until he heard the bathroom door opening. Jerking himself out of his silent contemplation Philip gathered his clothes and headed in to get ready. When he emerged, the smell of bacon made his stomach rumble and he made his way quickly into the kitchen.

"That smells great." He draped his jacket over the back of the chair and took a seat as Chloe placed a plate heaped with eggs, bacon, and fruit in front of him, "You didn't have to go to all this trouble."

"It's just breakfast." She took a seat across from him, "What time are we supposed to see Bo?"

"Anytime after 9." He popped a chunk of pineapple into his mouth, "We can head over there after we're done here."

"Okay." She pushed her food around her plate, finally taking a bite when he reached over and squeezed her hand reassuringly.

They held hands while they ate, letting go only to clear away the breakfast debris and gather their things. In the car Philip tuned the radio to her favorite station, and drove with one hand, letting the other rest on her knee. Chloe covered his hand with her own, absently tracing the veins while he directed the car toward the police station.

"After we're done with this, what do you say we go to New York? We can see a show, have dinner, maybe go to Martha's Vineyard for the weekend?" He tucked her hand in the crook of his arm as she stepped away from the car.

"Don't you have meetings this afternoon?"

"Only a teleconference. I can do that from the jet, just as well as from my office." He smiled at her, "Besides I'm the boss. I can take a little time away if I want to."

Bo waved at them from across the room as Chloe replied quietly, "It sounds wonderful."

Guiding her over to Bo's office Philip leaned in and whispered slyly, "That's the point."

She shot him a dirty look as Bo said crisply, "Glad you decided that police involvement is worth your time. Maybe next time you'll call us first."

Philip let out an exasperated sigh as they sat down in front of Bo's desk, "I had no idea that it would turn out to be this...involved. A few phone calls and someone following us home isn't exactly fodder for an episode of COPS."

"But it was worth $250,000 in security upgrades?" Shaking his head disapprovingly Bo flipped open a folder in front of him, "We took everything Sebastian gave us, as well as obtaining our own crime scene data and I'm sorry to say that I'm not certain we can do anything with the limited evidence we have on hand."

"What does that mean?"

"It looks like this guy was very careful to cover his tracks." Bo shifted uncomfortably, "Between our techs and Sebastian's this should have been a cake walk. But..."

Nervously, Chloe clutched at the arm of her chair. "Can't you catch him?"

"Look, I have no doubt that someone has been in your house." He took a deep breath, "The drugs, the carefully placed holes, the phone calls...it all supports the theory that you're being stalked. But he left us with no physical evidence."

"Sebastian said they found scores of fingerprints. None of them were any good?" Philip leaned forward, "What about the phone calls?"

"All made from a series of disposable cell phones. And the prints were all from people we know had reason to be in your apartment." He pointed at Philip, "After eliminating the workmen, Sebastian, Chloe, Daniel, and you? There were none left."

Chloe frowned, "Daniel's prints...but he's never...where were they?"

Bo's face flushed and he looked away as he said, "In the bedroom mostly, but also in the kitchen and the living room. Why?"

She turned to Philip, "I've been trying to remember that night we went to the movies...I didn't eat anything at my house. I didn't eat anything except the popcorn and soda at the theater."

"But you fell asleep in the car...I knew it!" Launching himself to his feet, Philip snarled "I never trusted that guy. Never."

"One of you want to clue me in?"

"Daniel's never been in my bedroom." Her voice trembled, "He's never been in my house at all. The only time he was ever there...at least the time I know about was yesterday."

"And he didn't make it past the doorway." Philip stalked angrily across the room to stare out the window, "He must have done something to your drink while we were at the movies. I can't believe I didn't see this earlier."

"Wait, just so we're all on the same page...are you saying that you suspect Dr. Daniel Jonas of stalking Chloe?"

"It's the only answer that makes sense." Twisting the strap of her bag in her hands, Chloe said listlessly "We broke up before I left town. I never gave him my address, but he offered to pick me up that day we all went to the movies."

"And he was so quick to offer to take you home that night." Philip growled, "All that claptrap about your voice, he was just trying to get you home before the sedatives kicked in."

"Then the night we were followed...he had to know you were there, but when you came out without a shirt. He just wanted to see if anything happened." With a brittle smile she said, "I actually yelled at you for giving him the wrong impression. It didn't even occur to me to wonder how he knew where I lived."

"I don't want to believe this, but what you're saying makes a certain kind of sense." Leaning forward Bo tapped the file, "It's no secret that he's unhappy about the breakup, and the timing does fit."

Not to mention who else would know what drugs to give her?" Shaking his head angrily Philip snapped, "He's been playing games with everyone all along. I bet he started scheming as soon as he saw you that first night at dinner. My mother and Chelsea just happened to slow him down."

"Actually, I think in his own way he really did care for Chelsea." Bo grimaced, "When she found out about Kate, he was so determined to get her to forgive him. He kept following her around, trying to get her to take him back. I thought I was going to have to get involved, but then Kate got sick."

"And he was all over her until he found out about my leukemia." Her eyes widened, "The transplant...did he even need to use my bone marrow?"

"We'll find out." Philip's eyes were cold, "You'll get a second opinion. So will my mother."

"You're absolutely certain that you never invited Daniel into your apartment?" Turning to his computer Bo asked, "Not even to help you move in?"

"No, I had the furniture delivered. And we broke up long before I rented it." She curled in on herself, "He's been popping up all over the place. And I didn't see it. Why didn't I see it?"

Hearing the note of panic in her voice, Philip moved back to her side to lay a hand on her shoulder, "Because he hid it so well."

"Philip's right." Bo's voice was distracted, his attention clearly on the screen in front of him as he typed furiously "Daniel has the perfect cover. In fact if you weren't so certain that he's never been in your place I'd probably still be skeptical."

"When will you arrest him?" Philip asked.

"I don't know that I have enough evidence to arrest him yet, but we will bring him in for questioning." He smiled reassuringly, "We will stop him."

"You'd better do it quickly. Or I will."

"Philip, I'm going to hope that you know better than to take the law into your own hands." He pulled some papers off the printer, "I've filed your complaint, and submitted a warrant request so that we can search his apartment. I'm sending a couple of officers over to pick him up now."

"If you can't hold him, what do I do?"

"You mentioned him popping up all over the place. Get a restraining order. At the very least we can start building a case against him now." Bo got to his feet, "I don't want you to worry. I have more than enough to get a search warrant. With all the prints he left inside your home, I doubt he's been very cautious about covering his tracks."

"I'm taking her out of town for the weekend." Thrusting his fists in pockets and rocking back on his heels, Philip said "We'll be in New York if you need anything. Sebastian will be here if you need any help from Titan."

Bo's eyebrow winged upward, "Chloe, could you excuse for a second?" He walked Philip outside and closed the door before leaning in to hiss, "I know that look. Giving yourself an alibi won't fool me. I told you, we will put a stop to this mess."

"And I told you..." Philip's eyes drifted to the door, staring at it intently as though he could see Chloe as she sat waiting "If you don't stop him? I will. This weekend is your shot. Don't waste it."


	14. Chapter 14

"Did you really spend $250,000 on security?" Chloe asked quietly once they were back in Philip's car.

"Bo was exaggerating." He pulled out of the parking lot, turning the car toward Titan "Between buying the place and making the upgrades I barely spent $200,000."

"You bought my..." She closed her eyes, massaging her temples as she spoke "Why would you do that?"

"It was a good investment. Especially in this market." He shrugged, "The owner was happy to sell the place, and that way we didn't need to worry about getting permission to make changes."

"Does the word overboard mean anything to you?"

"Ask me that question after we get to New York. Right now it all seems perfectly reasonable." Pulling up in front of Titan he continued, "I just need to sign a couple of things before we leave, and the proofs from yesterday's shoot should be ready for you to approve."

"We're such the corporate couple today." She shook her head bemusedly as he walked around to open her door, "Far cry from we imagined when we were kids huh?"

"Not too far." He smiled down at her she stepped out of the car, "I'm running Titan and you're a famous opera singer. Most of our dreams came true."

"Just not the way we expected." She smiled wistfully, "If I'd known then what I know now..."

"You'd still have gone after your dream." Steering her into the building Philip said mildly, "Singing is as much a part of you as the way you chew on your pens when you're concentrating."

"I guess so." She tilted her head curiously, "I'm surprised you remember me doing that in school."

He stuck a hand in his pocket, pulling out a well gnawed pen top, "How could I forget? You're still leaving them all over the place."

She poked his chest, "And you're still teasing me about it."

"That's my job." He led her to the photo editor's office, "Try to leave Lauren with at least one intact pen."

"Jerk." she grumbled as he walked away.

Philip's low chuckle drifted behind him as he headed for his office. Checking messages, answering emails, and signing some necessary papers kept him busy for close to an hour. A knock at the door drew his attention to the clock, cursing silently to himself he called out "Come on in Chloe. I'm sorry I didn't realize it would take this long."

"I believe Ms. Lane is still occupied with the proofs of her recent photo shoot." Sebastian's tone was calm, but he moved briskly into the room letting the door slam shut behind him.

"What's wrong?" Philip leaned back in his chair, eyebrows raised at Sebastian's uncharacteristic clumsiness "Did you find out something about Daniel that you couldn't tell me over the phone?"

"It was not a question of being able to tell you over the phone." Taking a seat across from Philip Sebastian said crisply, "I simply felt that this was the sort of news best delivered in person."

"Out with it."

"The Salem PD failed in their efforts to apprehend Dr. Jonas. He was able to elude them and in the process of their efforts to pursue him they managed to impede my men." His eyes dropped, shame filling his voice, "I regret to inform you that we have no idea where he is right now."

"Shit." Philip got to his feet, "Well I'm taking her to New York this weekend, that should give you time to run him to ground."

"There's more sir." Sebastian let out a heavy sigh, "Our investigations into his background have revealed some disturbing information. It seems Dr. Jonas has a history of becoming...over attached to former partners."

"That's no surprise." He eyed Sebastian speculatively, "What aren't you telling me?"

"He has been involved with several women over the years." Sebastian's voice dipped, "They all seem to have developed serious medical conditions at one point or another and of course he was the only doctor that could save them. One young lady...well she did not recover."

"I know his wife died, but I don't think..." Philip trailed off, reading the truth in Sebastian's face "You can't be serious."

"She became his wife on her deathbed. After he waged a very public and valiant war against her sudden illness. They never did figure out what triggered the resurgence of her disease, but then he refused an autopsy and had her body cremated." Sebastian got to his feet, "You mentioned taking Ms. Lane away for the weekend. May I suggest that before you return to Salem you permit me to take more...aggressive measures against Dr. Jonas? Assuming of course that the Salem PD cannot manage to take care of things on their own."

"Whatever it takes." Philip stuck out his hand, "Thank you Sebastian."

Smiled he shook Philip's hand firmly and said pleasantly "I believe I hear Ms. Lane approaching, I suggest you come up with a more pleasant facial expression while I show myself out."

"Of course." Turning to face the window Philip did his best to pull himself together, saying mildly when he heard the staccato beat of Chloe's heels on the floor of his office"What took you so long?"

"Your staff is full of interesting characters." She laughed sarcastically, "They are all very friendly."

"Why doesn't that sound like a compliment?"

"Because it wasn't." Resting her head against his shoulder she added, "I know when people are just trying to get some information out of me. Of course I don't know anything they'd consider useful so I wasn't much help."

"Know anything about what?" Philip glanced down curiously, "What information did you think they were after?"

"They want to know what's going on with us." She tilted her head slightly to look him in the eye, "All I know is that we're old friends."

"That's all they need to know." He stepped away slightly, "We should get to the airport. The jet is waiting."

"Generally when people go away for the weekend they pack a bag." Her eyebrow rose inquisitively, "Shouldn't we go back to the house first?"

"We could." A devilish smirk crossed his face, "But then we wouldn't have time to go shopping before Madame Butterfly at 8."

"Philip!" She squealed delightedly, "That show has been sold out for months. How did you get...never mind I don't care how you got the tickets. Let's go."

Laughing Philip let himself be pulled out of the building and into the waiting limo. Catching the driver's eye he mouthed "Hurry." while an excited Chloe nearly bounced in the seat next to him.

"You always know just the right thing to do." She flung her arms around him, "Cristina Gallardo-Domâs is supposed to do a marvelous rendition of Cio-Cio-San. And Maria Zifchak's Suzuki is always wonderful."

While Chloe chattered on delightedly about the talents of various performers Philip alternated between watching her with a bemused smile on his face, and working. Her glee lasted until they were in New York and walking into the room he'd booked at the Waldorf-Astoria. When she fell silent at the sight of their accommodations Philip said mildly, "We're going to be here all weekend, I plan to be comfortable."

"Comfortable...this is bigger than my apartment." She shook her head, "You didn't have to do this, we could have had a normal room."

"This is a normal room." He checked his watch, "I'm starving. Let's get something to eat before you drag me to every boutique in New York."

"If someone had given me time to pack..."

"You'd be dragging me to half the boutiques today and the rest tomorrow." He smiled affably, "You know you want a new dress for tonight."

"Why does that sound like you're mocking me?" She put her hand on her hip, "You know you love to shop."

"No. I like buying things. Specific things. Not spending 3 hours looking for shoes I don't need."

"You invited yourself along on that shopping trip." Her mouth twitched in amusement, "I seem to remember you and Shawn having high hopes that Belle and I were going to Victoria's Secret. Not my fault you misinterpreted us talking about buying some sexy new things."

"No, you two set us up." He stepped closer, "I almost forgot that I still owe you for that little stunt."

A mischievous smile on her face Chloe replied, "What are you going to do about it now?"

In a whisper so low she almost missed it Philip replied, "You'll see." before grabbing her arm and pulling her out the door. He paused at the concierge's desk long enough to whisper some instructions that made the man smile, before dragging her into a waiting car.

"I thought you wanted to eat."

"I can do that while you buy stuff." He smiled smugly, "It has occurred to me that there are more efficient ways to approach the next few hours."

Chloe crossed her arms, eying Philip warily as she said "Should I be running now?"

"Too late."

Chloe tried to peer out the window while they drove, but as the ride lengthened she settled back in her seat. When the car stopped she glanced out the window and frowned in confusion, "Where are we?"

"Someplace you're just going to love." Smiling serenely, he stepped out of the car "Come on, we don't have that much time."

Nervously she followed him into a dingy looking warehouse, "Okay, this is just weird. Why are we here?"

"Patience." He led her through a maze of hallways into a brightly lit room. Taking a seat in a folding chair, he gestured for Chloe to go through a door at the far end of the room.

"You are so weird." She looked around the room, "What is going on?"

"Do you trust me?"

"Yes, but..."

"Go through the door." He interrupted, pointing at the far end of the room again. "I promise you'll like it."

Grumbling angrily she stalked across the room and pushed the door open to reveal a dimly lit hallway. She glanced back at Philip, and he waved her on again. Taking a deep breath she followed the corridor until she entered another brightly lit room full of more clothes and shoes than she'd ever seen in one place.

"Ms. Lane?" A petite blonde stepped forward, "I'm Megan. Mr. Kiriakis thought you'd enjoy perusing these samples before they hit the runway."


	15. Chapter 15

"I'm going to have the word "overboard" tattooed on your forehead." Chloe commented dryly an hour later as she walked out to join Philip. "Right next to the word "meanie" for making me go through all of that first."

Dabbing at his mouth with a napkin, Philip laughed heartily "The look on your face...I wish I'd thought to bring a camera."

"How can you be such a jerk and be so sweet at the same time?"

"It's a gift." He gestured at the table, "I ordered you a chicken and strawberry salad."

"Thank you." She took a seat across from him, "Philip...you've got to stop."

"Stop?" Perplexed he asked, "Stop doing what?"

"All of these things you're doing for me. It's too much." She shook her head, "You know you don't have to do all of this."

"I'm not doing it because I have to, I'm doing it because I want to." He rested his chin in his hand, "What's the big deal?"

"You know I hate when you do this kind of stuff." She poked at her salad, "Do you know they wouldn't even take my credit card? She just kept saying it was all taken care of already. By you."

He frowned, "You make it sound like a crime to be nice to you."

"Nice to me?" Dropping her fork she leaned back and crossed her arms, "Nice to me was staying at my apartment that first night. This is...why are you doing all of this Philip? Just explain that to me."

"I did." with a diffident shrug he added, "I like being able to spoil you. I always have, I was hoping that by now we wouldn't have to fight over it."

"I don't want to fight with you." She sighed, "I just...this is getting very complicated and I don't want to you to think that you have to take care of me. Dan could be dangerous, and you've been hurt enough because of my choices."

"I'm a big boy. I can take care of myself." He stretched out his arm, holding his hand open until Chloe took it, "And I want to take care of you. Now stop being so damned stubborn, and let us both have some fun this weekend."

She picked up her fork, and said softly "If I have to stop being so stubborn, then you have to let me thank you."

"Fine." He took a sip of his water, "Make it quick."

"Now why do you sound like I'm about to rip out your chest hair?" She took a bite of her food, "Is it really so difficult to hear that I appreciate what you've done for me?"

"About as difficult as it is to simply accept a gift." He squeezed her hand, "The smile on your face is all I need, okay?"

"Okay." She ducked her head, "I'm not very good at the gift thing these days. Sorry for biting your head off."

"I'm used to it." He winked at her, "Now, did you find the perfect dress?"

"I found the perfect everything. You're lucky I thought I was working from my budget."

Making a mental note, he tapped his watch and said "As soon as you're done eating we should head back to the hotel and get ready for tonight."

"Yes sir," She mimed a mini-salute and turned her attention to her salad. After she finished the last bite she said briskly, "If we get back to the hotel and the room is full of the stuff I didn't get I'm going to yell at you. A lot."

"I wouldn't dream of upsetting you that way." His smile was disarmingly sweet, as he got to his feet and led Chloe back to the car, "We'll just go shopping tomorrow."

"With my credit cards."

Philip just smiled in response, and they rode back to the hotel without further discussion of clothing or finances. He hurried through his shower, allowing Chloe to have free reign in the bathroom while he got dressed and took a seat in front of the TV with his laptop to pass the time. While Chloe bustled around humming to herself in the other room, he made a call to Sebastian.

"I'm sorry sir. He's gone to ground, and covered his tracks thoroughly. We're running a trace for any recent real estate transactions, and tracking his credit cards and bank account but there hasn't been any activity. I can only assume he had some cash on hand."

"Have someone keep an eye on my mother...and check on Chelsea too. I didn't get a chance to give Max a heads up about Daniel, and I don't want him trying to hide behind her."

"I believe Commander Brady has already informed him of the situation. I also spoke with your father. He is...resistant to the idea that Dr. Jonas is a potential threat." Sebastian's silence spoke volumes.

"Check the lodge, and take a look at my father's finances. Maybe...well just take a look." Setting his laptop aside, Philip got up and checked to make sure Chloe was still busy getting ready as he continued, "I don't care what it takes, find him even if you have to piss off my father to do it."

"As you wish sir."

Hearing Chloe's footsteps coming toward the doorway, Philip muttered a hasty "Goodbye" and switched off his phone. Plastering a smile on his face, he turned and said, "Finally. I was starting to think that we were going to be late."

"I did not take that long." She picked up a tiny jeweled clutch and tucked it under her arm before walking over to him, "And I'm all ready. You're the one standing around with your tie all messy, so who's going to make us late again?"

"You are." He tugged at the strip of fabric around his neck, "You know I'm hopeless when it comes to tying these things."

"Liar." She slapped his hand away, and quickly tied the black silk into a tidy bow, "You taught me how to tie them."

He winked at her, "Why do you think I did that?"

She stuck her tongue out at him before spinning away to head for the door. He sauntered along behind her, allowing himself the luxury of admiring the way the thin glittering straps crisscrossing her back drew his eye downward. As they walked to the elevator Chloe caught his eye in the mirrored doors and she said with a smirk, "Are you enjoying the view?"

"It's a very nice dress."

"Yes, because you're such a fashionista." She made a show of swiveling her hips as she stepped onto the elevator, "You're totally watching the way the fabric falls right?"

"Of course." Blushing slightly, Philip avoided looking at her face as they walked toward the car. Once they were seated comfortably in the back of the limo he said, "You look beautiful tonight."

"Thank you." Chloe let her eyes sweep across the crisp white shirt covering his chest, "You look very handsome."

He took her hand, gently intertwining his fingers with hers and staring at their hands for several minutes. As the vehicle wound its way through the streets Philip said quietly "I wasn't really looking at the fabric."

"I know." She rubbed her thumb across the back of his hand, "I didn't pick this dress because the fabric falls nicely."

He chuckled softly, lifting her hand to kiss it before he pointed out the window at a passing marquee "Some day your name is going to be up there."

"Will you come see me perform?"

"I always do."

When the limo stopped Philip squeezed her hand gently and then let his fingers fall open. Reading the silent message in his eyes, Chloe tightened her grip and said softly, "We should hurry, I don't want to miss anything."

Grinning, Philip slid out of the limo onto the street. Waving away the driver he helped Chloe exit gracefully before offering her his arm. When she tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow he whispered "There's no need to hurry, we have all the time in the world." and ushered her into the opera house.

Chloe spent the performance enraptured by what was happening on stage, while Philip split his attention between watching her face and trying to stay awake. During the intermission he found himself talking to an older gentleman who took one look at Chloe while she chatted with fans in nearby boxes about the intricacies of the performance and said, "The best love is young love. How long have you two been together?"

"We're just..." Philip stopped himself before he could utter the word "friends" and said instead, "It's complicated."

Taking at the looks passing between the two of them, the man said shot a meaningful look at his wife and said "Fifty years ago I said something similar...it just gets more complicated as you build a life together. More fun too." before patting Philip on the arm and walking away.

The man's words ran through Philip's mind over and over again through the rest of the performance. At the end of the show, he slipped his arm around Chloe and led her back outside to the limo. Amused, he made the occasional noise of assent while she gushed over the night's entertainment. It wasn't until they were in the elevator on the way back to their room that she noticed his silence and said "I'm sorry. This must have been terribly boring for you."

"Not at all. It was fun to watch you. I forgot how excited you get, it's been a long time since I've seen you so happy."

"It's been a long time since I felt so happy." She leaned against the wall of the elevator, "Thank you for today. It was nice to forget, even if it was just for a few hours."

"A few hours?" He laid his hand over his heart, feigning a horrified expression "Do you really think so little of my upbringing? This evening is far from over."

She dropped into a deep curtsy, "Pardon me kind sir. I meant no offense. Pray tell, what other amusements have you planned for today?"

He bowed in return saying, "The lady will have to be patient for just a short time longer." just as the elevator doors slid open to reveal a crowd of drunken women wearing tiaras.

"I need a dress like that one to get Rodney bowing and scraping to me." slurred a petite woman wearing a veil along with her tiara, "Who knew dressing up like a butterfly could get dimples like those drooling on the floor?"

Philip jerked himself upright, blushing as the women crowded into the elevator chattering happily with Chloe about her hair and her dress. As the doors slid open again reveal their floor, one woman called "Try not to hurt that pretty boy tonight honey, I want to borrow that dress...and him tomorrow!"

Chloe's giggles filled the hallway as Philip rushed her toward their suite, "I don't think she's going to come after you right now, we can probably slow down."

He grumbled, "Easy for you to say, no one was pinching your butt." while he fumbled to get the door open, as they stepped inside he added, "I'm putting a chair in front of the door for the rest of the weekend."

"Scaredy-cat. They were just being..." Her mouth fell open at the sight of the elaborately set table in the center of the room, "I was going to say friendly, but I think we've been using that word a little too much lately. Philip, what's going on?"


	16. Chapter 16

"It looks like dinner." He walked over to the table and pulled out a chair, "Join me?"

Taking a deep breath, Chloe made herself walk over to take a seat waiting until he took the chair across from her to ask, "So, are we going to talk about this?"

"Nope." He removed the lid from her plate with a flourish, "We're going to eat a nice dinner. And spend time together, and we're not going to make any decisions or plans. We're just going to be us, and let whatever happens..."

When Philip trailed off and raised his eyebrows meaningfully, she said "That's either genius or utterly insane. I don't have a better idea though, so I guess it can't hurt."

They settled in to eat, their conversation turning from music to business as Philip explained Melanie's efforts to use the fuel project as leverage against Titan. "She's not a nice kid, but she is a kid so I'm trying to give her a chance."

"She's playing big girl games. You might want to be careful." Chloe replied acerbically, "Remember what Jan did to Shawn, before you get too entangled in helping her."

"I'm not exactly a choir boy." He spun his wine glass between his fingers, "Remember what I did to Shawn, and to Belle."

"Touché. But I don't think you're proud of what you did while Melanie...well let's just say I can't imagine her having a sudden crisis of conscience." Downing the last of her wine Chloe shook herself briskly, "Enough about Salem. Let's talk about someplace that isn't full of the ghosts of mistakes past."

"How about we stop talking at all?" He got to his feet, and held out a hand to Chloe, as soft music started to play.

Placing her hand in his Chloe said with a smirk, "You never miss a trick do you?"

He winked in response as he put his arms around her. They swayed and spun in near silence, content to let their bodies communicate until the music stopped. Chloe stepped away from him slowly and said quietly, "I know we said we'd just let things happen, but I'm not ready for some things to happen tonight. Is that okay?"

Philip laughed ruefully, "I won't pretend that I'm not a little disappointed, but I kind of expected it." He brushed a kiss across her forehead, "It's not the first time I've had to take a cold shower after dancing with you."

"When was the first time?" Smiling sweetly, she kicked off her shoes "I bet I can guess..."

His hand snaked out to catch her wrist, "Whatever you're thinking right now would be a very very mean idea."

"You're no fun." She pouted slightly, "Here I thought you'd enjoy a pillow fight."

"You are terrible at pretending to be innocent, do you know that?" He leaned in to whisper, "Teasing me will have...consequences."

"Bully." she replied, looking up at him through her eyelashes, "I was just having some fun."

"Brat." Brushing his lips across her ear, Philip added "That temptation to put you over my knee is back."

"It never left," She bit back a moan as his lips found a pulse point in her throat, "You've always been a little kinky...and I'm not the one being a tease right now,"

He murmured "Turnabout is fair play." against the soft skin before wrenching himself away and walking over to the table to dump the bucket of half melted ice on his head while Chloe giggled at his discomfiture. "That's better."

"Poor baby." She darted out of the room, returning quickly with a towel "Maybe we should sleep in separate beds tonight."

"Because that'll fix the problem." He shook his head, "I feel 16 again. I'm not sure I like it."

"I promise to wear a really ugly nightgown." She raised her right hand, "And I swear I'll refrain from teasing you for the rest of the night."

"That little thing your lip does when you lie is really cute." He sighed heavily, "I am going to go take that shower now."

Watching him walk away, Chloe murmured to herself "What am I doing?" before diving for her bag to pull out her phone and call Nicole.

"Hey, I've been trying to call you. I was in the Pub and I heard something crazy about Daniel." Nicole's voice dipped, "Is it true? Are you okay? Where are you?"

"It's true." Chloe took a deep breath, "And I can't believe I'm saying this but I didn't call you to talk about that situation."

"But you're someplace safe right? I don't need to send the cavalry or anything?"

"I'm fine." Curling up on a chair she continued, "I'm in New York. Philip decided we should go away for the weekend."

"Philip decided...well, I guess I know why you called me." Nicole laughed, "So, does that mean you two are done pretending now?"

"We are...letting things happen." Her gaze fell on the table, "He's been...taking care of me for the last few days, and when I asked him about it he was pretty clear on what he thought we should do. No decisions, no planning, just going with the flow for as long as possible. In theory I'm fine with that plan, but..."

"You want all the answers right now. Unfortunately the only answer I've got for you is not to do anything stupid. Just let it happen." Her tone shifted, "And be careful. Let Philip be as tyrannical as he needs to be until they catch Daniel."

"Catch him?" Chloe's voice trembled, "Bo sent officers to pick him up this morning. Are you telling me he's not in custody?"

"Apparently he took off before the police could pick him up." Swearing silently Nicole added, "I'm sure they'll find him before long. I assumed that was why Philip took you out of town."

"We decided to do this before we put it together about Daniel." She thumped the arm of the chair with her fist, "What am I going to do? I can't hide out here forever. I've got another show coming up in a few weeks."

"I can ask Stefano for help." Nicole offered hesitantly, "I don't know what he'd do, but living with the Devil has to have some advantages."

"Thanks, but I think involving the DiMera's should be my last resort." Letting out a frustrated sigh, Chloe added, "Speaking of your soon to be father in law, how are things going?"

"It's...I don't know. Sami's been around a lot lately, and EJ's falling all over himself to be nice to her. Because nothing is too good for the fair Samantha." Snidely she added, "Meanwhile, he doesn't want me to so much as nod my head at Brady. But I'm ridiculous for getting jealous of the mother of his child."

"That's...a lot of jealousy for one relationship. Are you...are you sure you want to be with EJ?" Chloe's voice softened, "It's not like you to put up with this kind of crap."

"I want our daughter to have her father in her life."

"She can have that without you marrying EJ." Chloe got to her feet, "Look I'm no expert in the marriage department, but you don't sound all that excited. And you should be over the moon. Just...don't rush into anything you'll regret?"

"Okay." Nicole laughed bitterly, "Wasn't I supposed to be giving you advice? How did the conversation shift to my love life?"

"It's more fun than talking about mine." Hearing the shower stop, Chloe said "I should go. I need to tell Philip about Daniel."

"Why? It's not like either one of you can do anything about him tonight." Nicole's voice brightened, "Live a little. Have some fun. Reality will still be here when you get home."

"I guess. I don't know, I don't want to keep anything from him." She stared blindly out the window, "It would really suck if I screwed this up before it started."

"I think Philip would understand, but I've been wrong before in the relationship game." She paused, "I guess honesty couldn't hurt. Just don't let this thing with Daniel take over okay?"

"I won't. Thanks Nicole. I'll talk to you when we get back." Hanging up the phone, Chloe walked slowly to the bathroom door and raised her hand to knock just as towel-clad Philip pulled it open releasing a cloud of steam.

"Were you planning to surprise me in the shower? Because I can get back in right now." he teased with a smile.

"You have a one track mind." Refusing to let herself be distracted by his chest, she continued "I was actually coming to tell you that Bo didn't catch Daniel. He's apparently on the run."

Pulling a towel off the shelf next to the door Philip said calmly, "I'll take care of Dan. Don't worry about it."

"You should stay out of it and let the police handle finding him." She chided him softly, "Remember what Bo said about taking the law into your own hands."

Philip's only reply was a noncommittal grunt as he unfolded the towel and handed it to her. Chloe frowned as she took it from him, "What am I supposed to do with this?"

"You're going to take a nice hot bath, relax, and stop worrying." He held up a basket filled with yellow bags bearing the word Lush, "They even have some of that fizzy foam stuff that you like."

"Why do I get the feeling they didn't have that until you called to make the reservation?" Bemused, she took the basket from his hand "How do you manage to think of everything?"

"It's a gift." He pulled her into the bathroom, "Now, I'm going to go out there and pretend that I'm not thinking about you in here."

"Liar." She set the basket on the counter, "You're going to go call Bo and pump him for information. I told you the truth, how about a little reciprocity?"

"I'm not going to call Bo." he shrugged, "As long as Daniel is running from the cops he's not going to be coming after you. It's a win all the way around as far as I'm concerned."

"I didn't think of it that way." Chloe turned her back, "Unzip me?"

"That's just mean." Philip laid his hands on her waist "You got into this dress without my help, why do you need me to get you out of it?"

"For the same reason you keep trying to pretend you're not worried about Daniel." She met his eyes in the mirror, "Because we're dancing around the truth for some reason."

"I'm not dancing around anything." He traced a finger along the edge of the fabric, smiling when she shivered, "You know that I'll do what it takes to protect you. Now, we can pretend that I'm going to let the police stumble around for months if it makes you feel better."

"Or you could tell me the truth." She blushed when he pressed himself against her back, "Novel idea I know, but we could just be honest with each other."

"The truth..." His voice turned dark, "Not to sound too cliché, but I don't think you really want that from me. Not about this, and certainly not right now."

"Philip, I told you" Her breath caught in her throat as he slid the strap of her dress off her left shoulder, "I'm not ready to..."

"You're not ready to sleep with me." He slid the strap on the right side down, "I know that, but you asked me to help you get out of this dress. I'm helping."

"You're cheating." Clutching her dress to herself with one hand she spun and shoved him away, "I'm not going to drop this just because you're messing with my hormones. I want you to let the police handle it. And I want you to tell me the truth."

"I can only help you out with one of those desires." He stepped closer, forcing her back against the sink as he said "I'll let you guess which one."

"Fine. I know you won't stay out of it." Chloe braced her hand against his chest, "Can you at least tell me the truth?"

"Sebastian has people looking for him. If they find Daniel, they'll turn him over to the Salem PD." He slid an arm around her back, lifting her away from the edge of the vanity as he spoke, "Eventually."

"So you knew...Philip, why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I didn't want you to freak out." He covered her hand with his own, "I wanted this weekend to be fun for you. Not more time spent worrying about this nut and what he might be planning."

"I'm not a child. This is my life." Her eyes narrowed, "You can't just arbitrarily make decisions for me."

"I just wanted to give you a little break, is that so wrong?"

"No, but..."

"But nothing." Philip's voice was firm, "You're here and safe with me. Stop giving Daniel space in your head, and just enjoy the weekend."

"And what happens afterward? When we go home, what happens?" She closed her eyes, "I don't want you to do something we'll both regret."

"I won't do anything unless I have to" Philip promised. He lifted her up slightly, waiting until she opened her eyes to say "But I doubt I'll regret it." before swooping in to kiss her.


	17. Chapter 17

After indulging in a long thorough exploration of her mouth, Philip whispered breathlessly in Chloe's ear "I think I'm going to need another shower."

"You'll have to wait until after I take my bath." She slid slowly out of his grasp, "I'll just be in here soaking in all these lovely soft bubbles while you go harass Sebastian for news."

"Witch." He let her nudge him out the door, "You do know that I wasn't joking about there being consequences?"

"It's not much of a threat if I know I'll like them." She let her dress fall to the floor, grinning when his eyes darkened before she closed the door in his face, "I always did like to live dangerously."

"That was the meanest thing you've ever done." Philip called through the door, "I'm going to get you for that."

Laughter filtered through the door before the sound of water running blocked it out. Grumbling to himself Philip headed into the bedroom. Pulling out underwear and a pair of pajama pants, he started to get dressed. Stopping to adjust his prosthetic he glared at the bathroom door and dropped the pants back into his bag. Muttering angrily, he grabbed his laptop and climbed into bed. Making himself focus on work, he tried to ignore the splashes and humming coming from the bathroom.

"Philip, can you do me a favor?" Chloe called sweetly.

"What kind of favor?"

"I have a book in my purse, could you bring it to me?" Her voice rose slightly, "Oh, and a glass of wine too please?"

"Woman, why are you torturing me?" Philip replied as he got out of bed to rummage through her purse, "Next you'll want me to wash your back."

"Ooh, would you?" Chloe giggled, "There are so many bubbles in here, I'm sure you won't see a thing."

Eying the bottle critically, he grabbed it and two glasses before tucking her book under his arm, and sauntering into the bathroom. "You know for someone that's not ready to take the next step, you're sure having a lot of fun messing with my head."

"I am, aren't I?" Languidly she stretched one arm out of the water to take a glass from his hand, "I guess I want to make sure those consequences you keep mentioning take a while."

"At this rate I'll need to take off work for a month." He sat on the edge of the tub, neatly filling both glasses before setting the bottle aside, "Maybe two. I have a lot of things in mind."

Laying back in the tub, Chloe stretched one leg out of the suds covering her and wiggled her toes at him "Before you go making plans, there is one thing you should know...I have no intention of repeating any old mistakes."

Philip took a sip of his wine before blowing gently on her foot, "Contrary to popular opinion I'm not a complete idiot. I had figured out on my own that if this was going to go anywhere it would involve making a commitment."

Her gaze turned speculative as she said mildly, "I'm not talking marriage, kids, and flowers. Just...being more than casual. Okay?"

Philip slid a hand into the water, letting his fingers trail up her calf as he spoke, "I don't think we're casual people. Maybe we can avoid revisiting some of our more...stellar mistakes if we just admit that now."

"You have a point." She shifted slightly in the tub as his fingers brushed the inside of her knee, "What do you think you're doing?"

"Touching you. I like the way your skin feels, it's always so soft." His eyes sparkled with mischief, "Why, is it bothering you?"

"You know this is why I keep messing with you, that cocky little smirk on your face right now." Chloe scooted backwards, "You're not playing fair."

"Fair went out the window when you dropped your dress." He downed the last of his wine, setting the glass aside before sliding his hand further up her leg, "I can only imagine what evil things you have in mind for the rest of this weekend."

Squirming under his ministrations Chloe hissed through clenched teeth, "If I promise to be a good girl will you stop torturing me?"

Philip's answering smile was devilish, "You can promise anything you like, but I'm not making any guarantees."

She surged out of the water, splashing him in the face as she got to her feet, "Then I'm not making any promises."

"Good." He grabbed the towel, slowly drying his face before offering it to Chloe, "It'll be more fun if I don't have to worry about feeling guilty."

She snatched it away from him, wrapping it around herself as she snapped "Some days I can't figure out how I ever fell in love with you."

Philip froze, his eyes going stormy as he said crisply, "Funny I've never had to wonder why I love you." before slamming out of the room.

Staring at her reflection in the mirror Chloe said softly, "So much for honesty being the key to not screwing things up." She dried herself off slowly, tucking the towel firmly around herself before bending to pick up her dress. She walked into the bedroom looking around nervously for Philip, laying her dress across the foot of the bed as she turned toward the living room and called out, "Should I come out there so we can talk, or stay in here until you're in a mood to listen to me?"

"Do you have on clothes?" She heard the tinkle of ice cubes as he continued, "I'm not in a mood to let you play with my head any more tonight."

Rummaging in a bag, Chloe grabbed a shirt and tossed it over her head, "I have on a t-shirt. I think the bag with my pants is still out there."

"I left some pajama pants in there. Put them on if you're coming out here."

Putting his pants on, Chloe couldn't help but smile at how big they were as she rolled the waistband so that they rode on her hips. She took a deep breath, and walked out with the words "I didn't mean that the way it sounded."

"Oh really, how did you mean it?" He gulped his drink, the amber liquid making him grimace slightly, "Because it sure sounded like I'm wasting my time."

"Wasting your time?" Forgetting her attire Chloe stalked across the room toward him, "Excuse me, last time I checked this..whatever this is just started. And no one asked you for your precious time. I told you, I can take care of myself."

"Just started?!" His face twisted in anger Philip snapped, "I figured out I was in love with you months ago. And I had to watch you with Lucas, then that thing with Daniel. And now that there's no one else? Now you decide to turn to me."

"You had to watch me with Lucas?" She snorted derisively, "Let's not forget little Miss Magnolia. I told you how I felt and you were so busy chasing her it didn't matter one bit. As for Daniel? I can't believe you're standing here trying to throw him in my face. You kissed me in October, promised to come see me perform and I thought...well never mind what I thought. I come back a month later and it's all about us being friends and you're chasing after Stephanie."

"I was trying to do the right thing!" Philip bellowed, "You and Lucas were supposed to be so happy and I figured I should just back off! I was never in love with Morgan! Never! But I thought you'd walk away as soon as you found out what I was doing to retain control of the docks!"

"Well I wasn't happy and I did something stupid. I didn't have the luxury of knowing how you felt, and I still lied to the police for you. Didn't that tell you something?!" Poking him angrily in the chest Chloe said, "Don't act like you're some poor little victim here. We both screwed up, and yes I do wonder how I fell for you again. You hurt me Philip. That's what you do, every single time and like a big dummy I keep coming back for more!"

"You're not the only one that got hurt!" He grabbed her hand, "I didn't want to fall for you when you came back to town. You'd already dumped me once for Saint Brady. How was I supposed to know you wouldn't do it again?"

"I didn't dump you for Brady." Jerking her hand away, Chloe crossed her arms as she said harshly "I ended our relationship for a lot of reasons Philip. And when I came back to Salem I watched you chasing after Belle remember? I seem to remember someone doing a lot of that in high school too."

"That was different. She was my wife. I thought we were going to be a family."

"What do you think I expected when Brady and I got married? We weren't supposed to end up this way. I thought we were going to be together forever."

Philip's mouth twitched, amusement seeping into his voice as he said "Those Black siblings sure are hell on the heart. Brady's chasing Nicole, and Belle's playing Shipwreck with Shawn while we're standing here arguing over who broke which heart worse."

Chloe's lips twisted as she fought the urge to laugh, "As fights go, I guess it's not the worst reason to have one. Philip, I want this to work, but I'm scared. My relationship track record is...well my last boyfriend is on the run from the police. My first husband wound up on drugs, and Lucas started drinking again after he found out about Daniel. I'm not exactly batting a thousand here."

"Well, my first wife only wants me when she's unhappy with the man she loves. And in the last six months I've managed to torpedo every relationship I tried to start." Staring down at his glass, he shrugged and said "We've both made mistakes. I've done things...awful things. I may do some of them again. I don't know if I can be in a relationship with anyone, but I would like to try."

Wearily Chloe said "So what now? We keep playing these little games and I know it's leading us somewhere, but I don't know what happens when we get there. Lucas is your brother."

"That didn't stop him from going after you." Philip sneered, "Or after Carrie. I'm done letting his feelings dictate my life."

"And Kate?" Chloe yanked on her hair in frustration, "For that matter, what about your father?"

"What about them?" Pulling her hands out of her hair, Philip led her to a couch saying "Neither one of them is in any position to judge you. And they don't get a vote."

"That's easy for you to say now." Taking a seat across from him she asked, "What about when Victor threatens to fire you for being involved with me? Or Kate decides to disown you?"

"He can't fire me." Philip smirked, "After his last trip to the doctor he agreed to sign over his shares. I own controlling interest in Titan now. As for my mother? She'll get over it."

"You make it sound so easy." She pulled her legs up, hugging her knees as she spoke, "It won't be simple you know. People will talk, yell, and generally pitch a fit. And that's just when they see us after this weekend. Not to mention what will happen when they find out about Daniel. You know in Kate's mind whatever happens will be all my fault."

He tugged her hands away from her legs, and pulled her close "Let them talk. Let my mother get mad. None of that matters. All of that...stuff is secondary to what's really important here. We decide, not them. Every time we've hurt each other it's been because of other people. Just once, let's try being together without letting anyone else interfere."

"I'd like that." She relaxed against him, "I'm sorry I hurt your feelings. I really didn't mean for it to come out that way."

"I know." He laughed, "I guess we did need to talk."

"Yeah" she toyed with his hand, "Did you call Sebastian?"

"No. I know that if...make that when," He took a deep breath, "when they find Daniel he'll call me. "We..uh...I think my father might be helping him."

"Why am I not surprised?" Chloe shuddered, "I just wish that meant he was getting actual help, instead of a convenient escape route."

"It doesn't matter what Dad might have given him." Squeezing her tightly Philip said, "He's never going to get near you again."

In a cabin near Salem, Daniel stared at a picture of Chloe and said, "I'll save you sweetheart. Don't worry, I'll always be there for you."


	18. Chapter 18

"Are you sure we have to go back?" Chloe asked softly as they lay tangled on the couch, "I could stay here forever."

"We do, but I think we could hole up in here for the rest of the weekend. Watch some TV, order room service, and talk."

"That does sound nice." She picked up the remote and wiggled it under his nose, "What's in it for me if I give you this?"

Philip tugged on the waistband of her pants, "Either I gained 30 pounds or you've lost some weight. I think you need dessert."

"Mm, that sounds like a plan." She sat up, "Something with chocolate."

"What is with women and chocolate?" He snatched at the remote, grinning when she tried to hold it out of his reach, "No remote, no brownie sundae."

"Bully." she replied with a pout, "What happened to being nice?"

"I am being nice." He tugged at the pants again, "I'm resisting the urge to take these back."

She grabbed a pillow and held it in front of her, "You want them? Come and get them."

"Just remember that you asked for it." Philip announced as he lunged at her, laughing when she squealed and tried to scramble away. They fought over the pillows, Chloe slapping at Philip with the one in her hand until he took it away and pummeled her with it. When they ran out of energy Chloe ordered food, hiding in the bedroom while Philip donned his pants to answer the door.

"I can't believe you stole my pants." Chloe grumbled around a mouthful of ice cream.

"They're my pants. You were just borrowing them." He spooned up a bit of brownie, "Besides, I like you better without them."

"That's because you have a dirty mind." Finishing her half of the sundae, she suppressed a yawn "I don't think that old myth about sugar making you hyper is true."

"Well, it is past your bed time." He dropped his spoon, "Let's go to bed."

They slept entwined, Chloe's head resting on Philip's shoulder, his hand covering her hip. The next morning a single look was enough to dictate their itinerary for the day. Like two kids playing hooky, they watched movies, ate junk food and talked about whatever came to mind. Resolutely ignoring any topic that might be upsetting, they spent the rest of the weekend in a blissful cocoon until finally it was Sunday morning and time to head back to Salem.

"You ready?" Philip asked, bending over the back of the couch to plant a kiss on her nose, "The limo will be here soon."

"No." She stretched her arms up, pulling him down into an awkward hug, "But I know we have to go back. Just...promise we'll do this again?"

"For a whole week if you can stand my jokes for that long." He tightened his grip, murmuring soothingly, "It's going to be fine. Really, what's the worst thing that can happen? My parents will get mad and we'll get a few dirty looks. No big deal."

She tilted her head, looking up at him as she quipped "All of this optimism...who are you? What have you done with Philip?"

"You're on to me. Now I'll have to detain you somewhere until my mission is complete."

"Why do I get the feeling your idea of detention involves a bed?"

"At the moment every one of my ideas about you involves a bed." He stepped away before she could hit him, "I knew you were going to do that."

Chloe stuck out her tongue as she got to her feet, glaring when Philip winked at her and mimed putting her over his knee. She responded by feigning a shocked expression, prompting Philip to twirl an invisible mustache and leer at her evilly. Unwilling to be outdone Chloe made a show of being a damsel in distress as they rode the elevator. Their game of increasingly melodramatic gestures kept them busy and amused until the pilot announced that they were making their final descent into Salem. Hearing the announcement Chloe fitted herself into Philip's arms with the words, "No matter what happens, I'll always be glad we had this weekend."

"It won't be the only one." Philip replied, framing her face in his hands as he spoke, "We're going to have a lot of them."

They shared a soft sweet kiss, smiling at each other when it ended before turning to face the doors. Arm in arm, they walked out onto the tarmac to find Sebastian waiting for them next to the limo. When Philip raised an eyebrow at the sight of him Sebastian said regretfully, "There is no news on Dr. Jonas. However, I do have some other things to discuss with you before you see your father."

Reading his facial expression Philip sighed, "I already told her about the possibility that Dad is helping Daniel. How bad is it?"

Sebastian gestured for them to get into the car, once they were settled he said calmly, "Mr. Kiriakis seems to have convinced himself that Dr. Jonas is a victim. I'm hoping that you can convince him to be more forthcoming with the police. As of right now, there is a possibility that he could be charged with aiding and abetting a fugitive."

Philip frowned, "A fugitive? I thought Bo said that he wasn't sure they'd even be able to arrest him, how could he be a fugitive?"

"Their search of his apartment yielded some evidence that is...overwhelming." Sebastian's eyes flicked to Chloe's face and back to Philip's, "Commander Brady has issued an APB."

"What kind of evidence?" When Sebastian looked at a Philip questioningly Chloe said harshly, "I'll tell you the same thing I told him. It's my life and I'm a big girl. What did they find?"

Philip nodded his head sharply, when Sebastian still hesitated he said "Better that she hears it now from you."

With a heavy sigh Sebastian said, "Please remember that I'm telling you this against my better judgment. As I understand it there are a significant number of photographs and videotapes. They also found a rather...detailed journal belonging to him. Dr. Jonas has a very vivid fantasy life, and I would hate to see any of it become reality."

Philip squeezed Chloe's hand as he said, "I see. Chloe, would you mind hanging out at the Pub while I go speak to my father?"

"I'd rather just go home." She smiled at him, "With all the changes I should be fine there."

"Are you sure you'll be okay alone? I don't know how long this could take." Philip's eyes shifted to Sebastian, "My father can be very stubborn."

"I'll be fine. Maybe I'll call Nicole." She smiled at him weakly, "I don't think I'm up to a crowd right now."

Philip frowned, "If you're sure. I'll try to get this over with as soon as possible."

"Do what you need to do." Turning to Sebastian she added, "Sorry I snapped at you. I really appreciate what you've done for me."

"No need to thank me Ms. Lane."

When they arrived at the apartment Philip walked her inside, kissing her goodbye with the words, "Call me if you need me." Back in the car he said "Get someone over here. Just in case."

"Already taken care of sir." Sebastian's face was grim as he said, "I've seen the photos and scans of the journal. Despite your father's insistence to the contrary, it is very clear that Dr. Jonas is a sick and dangerous man."

"How bad is it?"

"He's been fascinated with Ms. Lane for a long time. Some years judging by the wealth of press clippings that were found." Tugging on the cuffs of his shirt Sebastian continued, "The journal is what swayed Commander Brady. Most of it is complimentary, but when she does something that angers him...it is very clear that he's extremely unstable."

"And my Dad is just going to help him escape...wonderful." Philip shook his head, "What is he thinking?"

"I believe his bias against Ms. Lane is heavily influencing his decision making abilities. He is fairly fervent in his defense of Jonas."

"Great." Philip took a deep breath as they pulled up in front of the Kiriakis estate, "If I can't convince him, do what you can to cut off Daniel's supply line."

"Yes sir." Following Philip into the house Sebastian said briskly, "Don't worry sir. One way or the other we'll see to it that Ms. Lane is safe."

"Safe?!" Victor roared from the doorway, "That barracuda with breasts is the only danger in Salem."

"Dad," Philip turned to face him, waving Sebastian away as he said, "You can't be serious. Do you know what the police found in Daniel's apartment?"

"Oh don't tell me you actually believe that hogwash! She planted all of this to get rid of him, and set you up to think she needed rescuing. And like a fool you've fallen for her little game."

"Listen to yourself. Chloe didn't set anything up. I wouldn't have even known there was a problem if Max hadn't brought it up."

"Use your head boy!" Stomping toward him Victor snapped, "He wanted Stephanie back, and he schemed right along with that little bitch to get her."

"Max is dating Chelsea now." Spreading his arms wide, Philip said loudly "You've dreamed all of this up out of your hatred for Chloe, and you're absolutely wrong. Daniel's sick. He needs help, and whatever you think you're doing I'm here to tell you...it's just going to get worse."

"She's got your nose so far open your brain has fallen out." Shaking his head grimly Victor hissed, "Why on Earth would Daniel do something as insane as what they're trying to pin on him? I may think he has terrible taste in women, but even I know that there's no reason for him to pull any of these stunts. He could just move on to the next woman, after all there is no shortage of brunettes, and it's not like he hasn't already had his fun with Chloe. Why don't you have any concept of loyalty to anyone besides that bimbo?"

"Loyalty?" Philip laughed, "That's an interesting attitude you've got going there Dad. Your godson chased after your granddaughter, slept with your ex-wife, and is currently setting you up to face charges and you think I lack loyalty?"

"I'm telling you. He's innocent, and I'm not going to let your pigheaded allegiance to some trollop ruin his life."

"Dad, where is he?" Philip took a step toward Victor, "Even if I'm wrong, what kind of life can he have while he's on the run?"

Cagily Victor said, "He won't be on the run forever. Just long enough to clear his name."

"How is he going to do that?" Philip's jaw clenched as he ground out, "Especially when he's so crazy he thinks he can drug her into submission. Do you have any idea how dangerous he is?"

Smirking Victor replied, "Not dangerous enough. Chloe's still around to cause problems isn't she?"


	19. Chapter 19

Inside her apartment Chloe dropped onto the couch and pulled out her phone, "Nicole, hey it's me. What are you doing?"

"I'm at the Pub. Want to come meet me for a drink?"

"How about you come over here?" Chloe's voice dipped, "I need to talk."

"Okay." Nicole hesitated, "Do you mind if I bring Chelsea along? She's here moping and Max is swamped. We can have a full fledged bitch fest if you need it. I'll even buy the burgers."

"Sure." She grimaced, "Is she...upset about Daniel?"

"More like upset with Daniel." Nicole replied, "She's not mad at you or anything, though I think she's feeling a little stupid."

A sharp laugh bursting from her lips Chloe replied, "Tell her the club of "Deluded by Daniel" is always accepting new members. I'll even provide the margaritas."

"Let me get the food and we'll be there soon."

By the time the bell rang Chloe had the blender out and was reaching for the liquor bottles. She checked the screen linked to the camera and opened the door with the words, "Traditional with tequila, or should we go for the rum?"

Taking in the sight of Chloe's oversized t-shirt and sloppy bun Nicole said, "I think this calls for both. I'll be the bartender."

"Where's Philip?" Chelsea asked as she followed Nicole into the apartment, "I got a burger for him too."

"He's trying to talk to Victor." Taking the bag from Chelsea she continued, "Did your dad tell you everything?"

"That Grandpa is helping Daniel? Yeah, I know." Taking a seat on the bar stool Chelsea said, "I can't believe I got mad at you. Or at Grandma."

"How is Kate taking all of this?" Chloe asked as she pulled out her burger and fries, "I've been expecting her to show up to scream at me."

"She's overseas visiting my Mom." Pulling a fry out of the bag and popping it into her mouth she said, "I think she's embarrassed, and would rather just pretend that none of this is happening."

"Must be nice." Nicole commented dryly as she switched on the blender, "The rest of us are stuck here peering over our shoulders."

"I'm surprised EJ hasn't swept you guys off to some secure facility already." Raising her voice slightly to be heard Chelsea quipped, "Dad was all over me to go visit Mom."

"Yeah well your father actually loves you." Nicole stepped back and switched off the blender. Pouring the red liquid into three sugar rimmed glasses she said sadly, "I'm not the fair Samantha, so I can fend for myself."

"What happened? I thought you guys were so cute that day at the mall." Chelsea frowned, "Besides I thought Sami and Lucas were back together."

"They are, but every time they have a fight she shows up to whine to EJ." Pushing the drinks across the counter Nicole said wearily, "The sad part is I don't think Sami actually wants to be with him. She just doesn't want him to be with me."

"What did EJ say when you told him it bothers you?" Seeing the look that passed between Chloe and Nicole, Chelsea sighed "I take it he isn't understanding?"

"He told me that I can't see Brady any more, but Sami is the mother of his child and I have to support their relationship for Johnny's sake." Nicole's mouth twisted, "The part where I'm also the mother of his child? It doesn't matter."

"Can I ask a possibly stupid question?" Chloe took a sip of her drink, "Why are you still with him? It doesn't seem like you guys have a very stable relationship."

"I...I don't know." Gulping down her margarita Nicole said, "I thought we could have this great family, but it's not working. He gets mad and he starts bellowing at me and it's...lately it's all I can do to stay in that house."

"That's not good for the baby." Chelsea offered quietly, "And it's not good for you."

"What can I do?" She licked some sugar off her glass before taking another sip, "I tried to talk to him about us spending some time apart, and that went over like a lead balloon. He won't let me or Elizabeth go."

"It's not his decision." Chloe gestured around the room, "You get a little place, you tell him that he can share custody and you get on with your life."

"Maybe." Nicole shook herself, "Enough about me. Let's talk about something else. Like what's going on with you and Philip."

"I told you, we're just going with the flow." Shrugging Chloe added, "With everything else that's happening I'm not in a rush. We had a big fight Friday night, and then we spent the rest of the weekend being big kids. It was nice."

"What was the fight about?" Chelsea asked.

"It was kind of stupid. Mostly about who broke whose heart worse and which time." Seeing their eyebrows raise, she laughed "Our relationship is complicated. I married his nephew, he married my best friend. It's the kind of situation that pretty much guarantees strange fights."

"Was the making up good at least?" Nicole asked, wiggling her eyebrows meaningfully.

"Eeew. He's my uncle. I don't know if I want to hear any of this you guys."

"There's nothing to hear." Chloe smiled mischievously, "I told him that we weren't going to be rushing into anything and I meant it."

"Wait, so you spent two days in a plush hotel room in New York and you didn't give him any? Poor Philip." Nicole shook her head, "All those dimples and all this time and he's still got to wait?"

"What time? He's been with Stephanie for months. I think he can stand to let the sheets cool off a little." Chloe replied dryly.

"Actually...they never slept together." Chelsea offered quietly, "They came close a couple of times, but they kept getting interrupted. And then they started fighting all the time so..."

"Oh." Chloe blinked, "Well it hasn't been that long since he was with Morgan. He'll live."

"Erm...they never slept together either." Chelsea blushed, "I can't believe I know this much about his sex life."

"That's what he gets for dating your friends." Nicole sneered, "Wait, does that mean Dimples has been celibate since Chloe dumped him?"

At Chelsea's nod they all burst into laughter, Chloe saying through her giggles "No wonder he dumped the ice bucket on his head. He must feel like he's about to explode."

"Oh that's just disgusting. Ladies, he's my uncle...I don't want to think about him this way."

Nicole grinned, "As long as Chloe's thinking about it my work here is done. Let's move on to Max. What's going on there?"

"Stephanie's always around now. Just there and moping. And of course he wants to make her feel better." Raising her glass, she added "I think I need more of this to talk about my love life."

Nicole held up the pitcher, "There's enough left for another round. Then I'll make a new batch."

"Good. She's one of my best friends, but I'm ready to slap her." Drinking deeply from her refilled glass, Chelsea added "She still hates Melanie, and she still thinks Max should be doing something besides working at the Pub, but somehow now that she's not with Philip..."

"Max isn't looking so bad." Nicole laughed, "Oh honey, I know the feeling."

"So do I." Chloe drained her glass, "Be careful, Belle and I are still trying to get back to being friends."

Commiserating over relationship woes and debating the best approach to Chelsea's issues with Stephanie took them through three pitchers of margaritas and two scoops of ice cream. Eventually they made their way out of the kitchen, arranging themselves around the living room to talk about the samples Chloe had brought back from New York. Finally Nicole said drunkenly, "I think this conversation calls for pizza. And cheesecake."

"Ooh, pizza does sound good." Chloe got to her feet, stumbling slightly "It'll help avoid a hangover in the morning. What did you put in the drinks?"

"Vodka, rum, and tequila." Nicole shrugged when both women turned to stare at her, "We've all had a rough few days. Might as well have a good time."

"My liver may never speak to me again." Chelsea burped, "I should call Max and tell him to come get us later. I'm in no shape to drive."

"Good plan." Chloe glanced at the clock, "I would say that Philip could take you home, but I have no idea how long he's going to be arguing with Victor."

"That stubborn old coot isn't going to change his mind." Nicole replied, "Philip might as well stop wasting time. Call him and tell him to swipe the bastard's computer. It'll be faster if he just has someone take a look at where he's hiding his money this week."

"That's a good idea." Chelsea commented as she pulled out her phone, "When Max gets here I'll ask him if he knows anyone that can help."

"Sebastian's probably got someone to do it." Chloe gestured around the room, "He had a whole team of people with him when they came to install the new security system. What do you guys want on the pizza?"

"Something bad for us." Nicole glanced at Chelsea, smirking at the romantic smile on her face "Easy on the garlic and the onions."

Following Nicole's gaze Chloe laughed, "One date night special coming up."

Once their respective phone calls were over the women went back to lounging on the couches and talking. Finding herself debating the relative merits of colorful chunky jewelry Chloe said with a perplexed look, "Now I know I'm drunk. I don't think I've ever spent so much time talking about accessories in my life."

"It's your fault for asking about earrings." Chelsea frowned, "At least I think that was you. Maybe that was me."

"Okay, clearly the pizza guy needs to get here soon. We need breadsticks to combat the booze." Glancing at her watch Chloe added, "It must be a busy night, they said 30 minutes and it's been almost an hour."

"Breadsticks? Chloe, tell me you remembered the cheesecake!" Nicole slapped a hand on the arm of the couch, "I need sugar if I'm going to go home and listen to the latest ode to Sami."

"I remembered the cheesecake. In fact I got the mocha fudge swirl and the white chocolate raspberry." Just as she finished her sentence the bell rang, "Ooh, there it is. Somebody grab some napkins."

Chloe made her way to the door, her movements slightly uncoordinated. Behind her Chelsea said with a laugh, "Nicole you got her really drunk."

"I'm just a little tipsy." Chloe insisted as she walked to the door, "But if you're worried you can come help me carry the food."

Chelsea got to her feet slowly, wobbling as she tried to take a step. Seeing her clumsiness Nicole stood up, pointing Chelsea toward the kitchen said "You two are such lightweights. You go get the napkins and I'll help her get the food."

"I'm not a lightweight." Chloe protested as she checked the screen. Seeing the delivery guy's pizza shaped hat she punched in the code to unlock the door, "You're the one that served us half the bar. Anyone would be a little tipsy."

"Mm-hm. Excuses, excuses, you just can't drink with a pro." Glancing at the screen as Chloe reached to turn the key Nicole said, "When did the Palace hire a new driver?"

"What?" Perplexed, Chloe turned to Nicole and asked "How would you know all the delivery drivers?"

"Johnny loves pizza. We order from the Palace all the time." Suspicious, Nicole pulled Chloe away from the door and called "Let me see your face."

Outside the delivery guy held up the boxes, but didn't raise his head. A frisson of unease ran down Chloe's back, "I'm not opening the door unless you look at the camera."

When he still didn't raise his head Nicole yelled, "Chelsea, call the police."

At her words he dropped the boxes and bolted out of sight. Suddenly sober Chloe scrambled for the phone, her palms so sweaty she nearly dropped it in her mad rush to dial. "Philip, it's me. We ordered pizza and Nicole didn't recognize the delivery guy and so she wanted him to look at the camera. And he wouldn't look up or take off his hat. I think...oh God, I think it was Daniel."


	20. Chapter 20

"I'll be there in a few minutes. Don't open the door, and stay away from the windows." Snapping his phone shut, Philip shot a venomous look at Victor "Was that the plan? Keep me here arguing with you so he could try to grab Chloe?"

"Grab her?" Victor chuckled, "Such melodramatic posturing. He just wants to persuade the little bitch to tell the truth."

"By pretending to be a delivery guy?" Philip shook his head disdainfully, "I know the doctors said that your ability to reason was unaffected, but I think they're wrong. You have to know that he's sick and dangerous."

"I know that Chloe has managed to destroy the life of every man she could get her claws into, I'm just trying to spare you the same fate." Victor's face softened, "You may not believe it, but I want what's best for you."

"I do believe it." He shook his head, "But what you think is best for me isn't...this is my life Dad. Chloe didn't wreck my life or Brady's. And if anyone has tried to wreck Lucas' life? That is Sami's whole reason for existing."

"How can you say that?" Slamming his hand down on the desk Victor snarled, "You almost died, Brady got hooked on drugs, even Lucas the poor bastard he ran right back to that trainwreck he calls an ex-wife. She's trying to ruin Daniel's life now with these phony charges."

"I almost died because I decided to go to war rather than stay here and face my problems. Brady's addiction was his decision, Chloe didn't force him to start using any more than she forced him to keep using." Philip walked toward the door, "As for Lucas, you and I both know that he can't stay away from Sami. None of this is Chloe's fault. You know that deep down. Do you really want her to get hurt?"

"I want her to go away." Victor held out a hand, "You cannot truly believe that Daniel is capable of these crimes. You must see that the accusations are lies."

"Lies told by who? Sebastian found the evidence in her apartment, after Max noticed her getting the calls. Bo and the Salem PD did their own investigating. Chloe was with me this weekend while Daniel was hiding from the cops." He took a deep breath as he opened the door, "Call Bo, ask him to show you what he found, talk to Sebastian's men. Do some investigating of your own. The man I used to respect was so much more than a puppet on a string for some freak trading on old ties."

Before Victor could formulate a response Philip left, slamming the door behind him. Alone in the foyer he growled, "I'm no one's puppet" before stalking into his study to make some calls.

Outside Philip wasn't surprised to see Sebastian in the driver's seat of an already running vehicle. He climbed into the car quickly, saying "I thought you had someone at the condo." as he buckled his seat belt.

"I do." Speeding out of the driveway he added, "He's not responding to my calls."

"Shit." Philip pulled out his phone, dialing quickly only to slam it shut in frustration a moment later "Chloe just called me, but now it's telling me that her phone is off."

"I suspect Jonas took steps to keep her from calling the police. A mobile jamming device would not be difficult to obtain." Sebastian's calm tone was at odds with his driving, he wove the car through traffic at a speed that had Philip bracing himself while he asked, "Did you instruct Ms. Lane to stay inside? And tell her to avoid the windows?"

"Of course." Philip grimaced, "I should never have wasted so much time arguing with my father."

"Your efforts on that front may still bear fruit." Sebastian's smile was grim as they pulled up in front of the building, "For now, let us focus on ascertaining what has happened to Nathaniel and making sure that Ms Lane is unharmed."

Scanning the surrounding area for any signs of movement, Philip and Sebastian got out of the car slowly just as a Jeep on massive tires pulled up behind their vehicle. The lights mounted on the roof were blinding and Sebastian's hand crept into his jacket as he tried to get in front of his employer. The engine and lights switched off and they heard "Sebastian, it's Brady Black. Max is with me."

"Brady." Philip let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, "That's a...subtle ride you got there man."

"It's not mine. I borrowed it from Pete." Max replied as he hopped down from the cab, "He needed my car to take his new girlfriend to some fancy restaurant in Chicago tonight."

"Oh." Frowning Philip asked, "Why are you here?"

"Chelsea called and asked me to pick her up. I guess Nicole was mixing the drinks and no one is in any shape to drive. Brady decided to tag along when I mentioned where I was going." He glanced at Sebastian's stance, "Something wrong?"

"Chloe called, they ordered pizza and the delivery driver's behavior was suspicious." Philip hurried toward the door calling over his shoulder, "We were on our way to check on them when you pulled up."

Max scrambled to follow Philip up the stairs, Brady hot on his heels "Suspicious? How is a delivery driver..." He broke off at the sight of the food splattered in the doorway, "Well that's no way to get a tip. Do you think it was Daniel?"

Sebastian's whisper drifted up the steps "I'm going to look for Nathaniel if you're sure the three of you can handle things here sir."

"I'll watch his back Sebastian." Brady replied, turning to face the parking lot while Philip punched in the code.

Philip inserted the key, turning it as he murmured to Max, "Chloe thought so, and now I can't get her on the phone."

"Chelsea didn't answer when I called to tell her I was on my way." Rolling his shoulders backward Max added, "If Daniel got inside..."

"He didn't." A voice called from inside the dimly lit apartment as Philip opened the door, "He tried. He threw something at the windows, and he climbed onto the balcony and tried to break the lock, but he didn't get in."

"Nicole, is that you?" Spinning on his heel Brady pushed past Philip and Max, pulling Nicole close as they closed and locked the door behind him, "Are you okay?"

"I've had better days." She glanced toward the back of the apartment, "Chelsea is borderline hysterical, Chloe's in there trying to calm her down."

"I'm not hysterical!" Chelsea sobbed as she dashed into the room and hurled herself into Max's arms, "I just got a little freaked out. You didn't see his face. It was like he didn't even see me. He just kept throwing himself at the door and bellowing her name."

Going to the doorway of the bedroom Philip leaned in and called gruffly, "What are you doing in there woman? Now is not the time to stage a grand entrance. Come here."

"I'm coming. Good grief, you'd think you were worried about me." Chloe's voice shook, as she walked stiffly toward him "It's not like anything big happened."

"You are a terrible liar." Wrapping his arms around her Philip murmured, "I'm sorry I wasn't here."

"It wouldn't have made any difference." Nicole offered dryly, "He's totally lost it. It was like that old movie where the guy stands outside screaming "Stella" over and over again until it turned into one of those specials about animal attacks."

"I need to go outside and find Sebastian." Pressing a kiss to Chloe's head, Philip stepped away slightly as he said, "Will you be okay for a few minutes?"

"We should just call the police." Chelsea sniffed, "I tried to call my dad, but my phone is acting up."

"Daniel has a signal blocker." Philip met Brady's eye "We can't call the police. And Sebastian is out there alone."

"Not for long." Brady glanced at Max, "Who's staying here with the girls?"

"We're all staying inside." Chloe replied firmly, "Daniel could have anything, do you realize he could have a gun?"

Philip smiled down at her ruefully, "Well, he won't be the only one. Sebastian's probably carrying two or three."

"So then why do you need to go out there?" Chelsea asked plaintively, "It's not like you guys have guns."

"Phil?" Brady arched one eyebrow, "Are we stuck in here with no weapons?"

"Not so much." He shot a wary look at Chloe as he went to the closet. Pulling out the lockbox, he whipped out a key and opened it to reveal a small automatic weapon, "I thought it best to be prepared, there's a 9 mm in a lock box in the kitchen, and another one under the bed."

"You hid guns all over this house and you never told me?!"

"You can yell at me about it later. Right now, I need to go find Sebastian." He tossed the key to Brady as he walked out of the kitchen carrying another box, "Max can stay in here with you guys. It'll be fine."

"Like Hell." Kissing Chelsea on the forehead Max nudged her toward the couch, "I'm coming with you guys. This ends tonight."

"You're all insane. Why don't we all just get in the car, go find Sebastian and get the hell out of here?" Nicole snapped, "Playing cops and robbers with a lunatic can't end well."

"And give Daniel the chance to do this again?" Philip shook his head, "Not a chance. He got very close this time. Next time he might actually be able to do some damage. Now, with the doors locked you guys are safe in here. Just wait, hopefully we'll be able to find the jammer and then one of you can call the cops."

Chloe said wearily, "If any of you get hurt I'm never going to forgive you. Never."

"Well, if you're pissed at me I know I'm breathing." Philip smiled, "I'll be back and this will all be over. Trust me."


	21. Chapter 21

"Why are boys so dumb?" Chelsea asked, after Max got his weapon and Chloe checked to make sure the door was closed and locked behind them, "I know neither of you can really answer that question. I just needed to say it."

"Actually I do have an answer." Chloe replied softly as she stood staring at the view of Philip's back provided by the camera, "Because if they weren't we wouldn't love them so much."

"Philip will be fine you know" Nicole yawned, "He'll come back with Daniel's head on a pike."

"How can you be so calm?" Shaking her head wonderingly, Chelsea flopped on the couch saying, "It's taking everything I have not to start screaming."

"What good would it do to flip out?" Nicole curled up on the couch, "Girls like you have that luxury, but for most people keeping a cool head keeps them alive."

"Girls like me? What is that supposed to mean?" Chelsea asked with a frown, "Why do you always act like I'm some stupid kid?"

"It means that you grew up in a reality where calling the police actually ended in them helping you." Nicole shrugged, "I'm not calling you stupid...just sheltered."

"Can you two skip playing who had a worse childhood? We all know you'll win that game Nicole." Casting a reassuring smile at Chelsea, Chloe explained "Bitchiness is her coping method and Sami isn't here right now."

"Spoilsport." Nicole got to her feet, walking over to peer out the window, "Between you and Brady I'm not getting to blow off any steam lately."

Chloe shrugged, "Well, you could follow through on that threat to gut Daniel like a fish. I'd pay good money to see you do it."

"If Philip brings back enough of him, I think that can be arranged." She flashed a wicked smile, "We can sell tickets."

"How can you guys make jokes at a time like this?" Chelsea got to her feet pacing restlessly around the room, "I'm about to go out of my head with worry and you two are perfecting a stand-up routine."

"What else can we do?" Chloe walked over to the window, "Pace? Go crazy? It's bad enough we're stuck in here waiting, why not try to lighten the mood?"

Outside Max glanced back at the building, as he followed Brady and Philip into the tree line. Smiling briefly at the silhouettes framed in the window he murmured, "This feels like something out of one of Pop's old Westerns."

"As much as I appreciate the idea of a posse, I think I'd have preferred to know that Mr. Kiriakis would adhere to basic safety precautions." Sebastian's dry comment startled the three men, seeing Max's hastily extended arm he added "Please don't point that at me young man. I assure you I'm not the enemy."

Glancing at Philip and Brady's relaxed stance Max lowered his weapon, "Why is Mr. Belvedere carrying a Glock and walking around with a half-naked guy? Where do you go to hire these people? British thugs r us?"

"Sebastian is...exceptional. I think he found us after one of my less than stellar exploits." Stepping forward to help him lower the bedraggled man to the ground Philip asked, "Still no Nathaniel?"

"I'm here Mr. Kiriakis." replied a slim dark haired man as he stumbled into view, "I chased the bastard off once I got my legs under me again."

"It appears Doctor Jonas accosted young Kevin here in order to steal his attire and the food." He jerked his head at his employee, "Then Nathaniel made the mistake of blocking a blow without being sure his hands were clear."

"I was expecting a knife, but he had a taser. The current went right through my braces and knocked me on my ass for a little while." Nathaniel shook his head, clearly still trying to pull himself together, "I thought he was the pizza guy, that's the only reason I even let him get to the door."

"From now on, no one gets to the door." Moaning and some muffled swearing drew his attention to the man on the ground, and Philip snapped "Get him to a hospital and find out how Daniel got to him."

"I don't need a hospital." Scrubbing a hand across his face, Kevin groaned, "I need a drink and some pants."

"You need to explain what happened tonight." Nudging the man with his toe Sebastian added, "As I told you when I found you, unless you wish to face charges for your role in tonight's debacle

"He sells good shit, always gives me a tip whether I deliver or he picks up. Primo stuff on tap even if he doesn't have any cash." The man on the ground rubbed his head, "We were talking, and he mentioned that he wanted to play a prank on a friend that lives here. Told me if I ever got a call for this address to call him first. I met him a block away, so he could ride over with me and just throw on the hat to make the delivery."

"And it didn't occur to you that it was a bad idea?" Brady squatted in front of him, "That just maybe he was up to something else? The police have been looking for him for days."

"It did when he told me he needed my clothes for the prank to work." Kevin grimaced, "Paying me 50 bucks and throwing on that stupid hat to get a laugh...sure. But wanting to trade everything and take my car? It didn't smell right, so I told him no dice, handed him the cash and started to walk away. Next thing I know I'm laying on the ground and my Mom's car is missing. As for the cops? Look, I thought they wanted him for the dealing, not for anything you know...violent."

"Any idea where he went?" Max turned in a circle examining the surrounding area, "This guy is unstable and we really need to get him off the street tonight."

"I don't know." Kevin scrambled trying to get to his feet, before flopping to the ground again and saying delightedly "Oh, but her car has that thing where the company can track it and recover it if it's stolen. The thing you know with the funny name...like that bald detective guy on the old shows."

"Really?" Sebastian's grim smile made Kevin shrink in on himself as he said coldly, "Well, then you need to come with us young man."

"Shouldn't we call Bo?" Max pulled out his phone, "Let the cops handle that part?"

"We could do that." Sebastian's eyes slid slyly to Philip's face, as he said mildly, "Of course we'd have to explain quite a few things to them. That could take some time, and this young man's mother would probably get involved. Jonas could have dumped the car by that point, and we'd be right back where we started."

"Not a chance." Philip turned to Max, "Look, I get that you want to go about things the right way. But, I'm not willing to wait for the Salem PD to catch him. There's no telling what he could try to do next."

His eyes drifting across the grim faces of the other men, Max gestured for them to follow him across the parking lot. Once there was some distance between them and the still woozy younger man, Max said quietly "Okay. Let's say I go along with your plan, what happens next? I'm already on probation, I can't risk getting into any other trouble."

"It's simple. You and Brady go upstairs, get Chelsea and Nicole and take them home." His eyes cold, Philip glanced back at Kevin, "He tells us what we need to know about the car and Sebastian and I take care of the rest."

"Not exactly accurate sir." Sebastian shared a look with Nathaniel, "You will also be going upstairs to keep Ms. Lane company while we tend to this situation."

"I want to be..."

"You want to be able to deny everything." Sebastian looked around, "In fact the best thing would be for the six of you to spend some time together. Perhaps the next two hours or so?"

"That sounds like a great plan." Brady slung his arms around Philip and Max's shoulders smiling beatifically at Sebastian as he said, "We can calm the girls down, get some food, and maybe play some video games. You'll call us later?"

"Of course Mr. Black." He gestured to Nathaniel, "Let us collect our friend and get on with the night's work."

Philip pulled away from Brady's grasp hissing "Denial is not as important to me as results."

"I have no intention of failing you now Mr. Kiriakis."

With a curt nod Philip let himself be led back toward the building as Sebastian and Nathaniel gathered up Kevin and led him away. Outside Chloe's door Max paused to clear away the crushed boxes of food, lifting the last one and setting atop the stack he uncovered a small black device with a small green light flashing on the top. He examined it carefully, before flipping a switch on the side and watching the light go out. "I guess we can get the phones to work now."

"Great. We can order some new food." Poking at the stack of boxes Brady wrinkled his nose, "Or maybe we should just cook something."

"I'm not hungry." Philip said as he unlocked the door, "But I think there's some frozen stuff if you two need to eat."

"What happened?" Chelsea darted away from the window, "Did you guys find Daniel?"

"No." Philip slid past her, smiling comfortingly at Chloe as he said, "Sebastian's tracking the car he's in though. We need to hang out here for a little bit."

Nicole smiled sardonically, "Are we playing alibi? You know I'm no good at that game. The cops never believe me."

"That's why we're all here." Brady commented dryly, "We can cook, play some games...maybe talk about some things?"

"What do we need to talk about?" Nicole cocked her head to the side, "I mean in mixed company and all?"

"We can talk in the kitchen while I make us all something to eat." He took her hand, tugging her toward the kitchen as he said "I can probably even whip up some of those mini-cheesecake things you like so much."

Sliding her arms around Max's waist Chelsea said, "Is this going to be one of those things that I don't tell my Dad?"

"Yeah." He kissed her forehead, "I'll take you home in a couple of hours and we'll pretend tonight never happened."

"You can take me home in the morning." She tightened her grip, "I don't feel like sneaking in tonight."

Lifting her off her feet, Max maneuvered her backward to the couch as he replied, "Well we can watch a movie or I can pretend to let you beat me at Smash Brothers for now."

"You guys make yourselves comfortable." Philip extended a hand to Chloe, drawing her away from the window as he said, "Talk to me?"

She let him pull her toward the bedroom as she answered, "I'll try. I can't promise coherency."

"Well, you could yell at me now. You like that, and it usually helps you focus." He brushed her hair away from her face, "I've got a couple of hours to kill, might as well take advantage of having me as a captive audience."

"You've got more than that to kill." She closed the bedroom door, leaning against it as she asked "What's Sebastian going to do with Daniel's body?"


	22. Chapter 22

"You don't have to pretend with me." Brady commented as he rooted around in the refrigerator, pulling out vegetables and a package of chicken, "I know you must have been petrified."

"Me?" Nicole waved her hand dismissively, "No. I'm fine. Chelsea's a wreck, and I think Chloe's hanging on by her fingernails, but you know me...I'm tough."

He laid the ingredients on the counter and pointed to her purse, "Right. You planning to take the butcher knife out of your bag any time soon? I need it to cut up the chicken."

Her face red, Nicole averted her eyes as she reached in and pulled out the knife. She dropped it on the counter and headed for the door only to find Brady blocking her way. "Move."

"Not a chance." He wrapped his arms around her, holding her still as he said "Let it out. I've got you."

"I'm not..." She gasped, her body going rigid as she struggled to control her voice, "I handled it. I'm not going to fall apart now."

"Stop it." He shook her gently, "I can see that Chloe's not the only one just barely keeping it together. Talk to me."

"It was so ridiculous." Nicole's forced laugh was sharp, "One minute he's running away and Chloe's scrambling to call Philip. But then he came back to the door and we could hear him fumbling around until he starting slamming himself against it. Chloe tried to call the cops and her phone was dead. We all tried, and it was just...dead air. And we're standing there looking at the screen and telling ourselves that it's a fluke."

A shudder ran through Nicole as the words poured out of her mouth, "But then Daniel starts making this awful noise. Just bellowing her name over and over again like one of those street preachers you see sometimes? And I thought that we were going to be stuck listening to that racket until Philip got here, but something sent him away from the door again and we thought it was over. That he'd finally been scared off, but then he started up at the window."

Brady guided Nicole to a chair as tears started to trickle down her face, "He was throwing rocks and trying to get Chloe to open it, and then it went quiet. Total silence. And Chelsea went to look out the balcony doors and he was...he was right there. She screamed and he started slamming himself against the door and I came in here to get the knife just in case...and then something happened outside and he was gone again."

"I'm sorry we didn't get here sooner." He murmured into her hair as she sobbed against his shoulder, "Small comfort I know, but Sebastian's one of the best. He'll find him."

"He needs to kill him." Nicole raised her head, "You didn't see his face...it was like all the Daniel was gone. The surfer, the cool guy, and the doctor vanished and all that was left was this scary violent animal."

"So you're saying he has rabies and he needs to be put down?" Brady's mouth twitched, "That really shouldn't be as funny as it is."

Nicole got to her feet, going to the sink to splash water on her face before saying, "You know me, I can find the funny even when everything is going to Hell."

"I do know you." Taking her hand Brady added, "That's why I don't understand this thing with EJ."

"You don't have to understand it." Nicole tried to pull away, "He's Elizabeth's father and we're going to be a family."

"You, EJ, Sami, and Stefano all raising her together?" His lip curled, "That sounds so...cozy."

"Is it perfect? No." She let her hand rest in his as she spoke, saying sadly, "But what else can I do? I want her to have two parents that love her."

"Well that leaves EJ out on a couple of fronts doesn't it?" Pulling her back down to sit beside him Brady continued, "He's not her father, and I think it's safe to say that while he loves the idea of her he's incapable of actually loving anyone. Just stop this farce Nicole, walk away now."

"Let's say I take your advice. Tell EJ the truth, and move out...then what?" She grimaced, "Instead of two parents and a wonderful home, it's a crappy apartment with a single mom that everyone hates?"

"Or it could be two parents that actually love each other and love her." Brady smiled, "Staying with the DiMeras is far from your only option."

"Your family..." Nicole shook her head, "You know it's not that simple. Sami's your sister!"

"Just look at Philip and Chloe. They're getting together and it's not a problem." He shrugged, "One thing about Salem, everyone gets over things sooner or later. Just think about it...we can stop pretending to be friends."

"And Stefano? He's not just going to smile and wave goodbye."

"Don't worry about any of that right now." He framed her face in his hands, "Just say that you want to be with me. We'll figure the rest of it out later."

While Brady and Nicole were discussing their options Philip turned away from an expectant Chloe to examine the damaged lock on the balcony doors as he said diffidently, "What makes you think Sebastian's going to do anything that requires hiding a body?"

"If he wasn't the police would be here by now." She ran her hands through her hair, "You've already made the decision. We both know it. So, let's put our cards on the table."

"I didn't make any decisions." Twisting to look at her he asked, "Is that what you want? Daniel dead?"

"That's not what I said." Hugging herself tightly Chloe murmured, "I just want him to stop."

"And if there's only one way to do that?"

"What do you want me to say? I don't want to be responsible for his death, but I don't want him to be responsible for mine either." Lips trembling Chloe choked out, "He said that you know, that if he couldn't have me no one would. I don't know what to do."

"He doesn't get to make that decision." Philip approached her cautiously, deliberately keeping his voice calm, "And you don't have to do anything. You know that I'll take care of it."

"But I don't want to make you responsible for..." She broke off, her hands flying up to cover her mouth.

"It wouldn't be the first time." He grasped her hands, pulling them away from her face and placing them at his waist as he enfolded her in his arms, "It's not even a time I'd regret. But I wouldn't be responsible for anything. You're here with me, so you're not responsible for anything either. If Sebastian can catch him and bring him in without anyone getting hurt he'll do it."

"You're a terrible liar." She laughed weakly, "So we all stay here tonight. Then what?"

"Sebastian will call eventually, and then the others will go home and we'll go to bed."

"Just like that?" Shaking her head wonderingly Chloe added, "You make it sound so easy."

"It's not." Guiding Chloe to a seat on the end of the bed Philip knelt in front her, "I wish there was another way. I didn't want anything like this to touch you. Ever."

"Couldn't you call Sebastian? Have him call the police?" She grabbed at his hand, "Daniel could get help, and we wouldn't..."

"Let's say he goes to jail for the four or five years, maybe gets some kind of court ordered counseling or whatever." He turned her hand over, kissing her palm gently "He might get better, but I don't think that's likely. And then he's out. Free to do this all over again. Only that time...maybe the locks don't keep him out."

Curling in on herself, Chloe whimpered "I can't go through another night like tonight Philip. He was...I've never been so scared in my life."

"I know." He climbed onto the bed, wrapping himself around her as he spoke, "No matter what happens I won't let anyone hurt you like this again."

In the living room, Max toyed with Chelsea's hand as he spoke, "See, I told you playing a game would help you relax."

"Okay you were right." She glanced at the kitchen doorway, "I wonder what Brady's cooking. I wish he would hurry up. I'm getting hungry and I don't smell anything."

"I think he's busy talking Nicole off the ceiling. I'll make you something when we get back to the Pub."

"I doubt it. Nicole was totally calm when everything happened. Chloe kind of shut down after a while, and I was freaking out, but she went over and sat on the couch like nothing was wrong. You saw her when you came in."

"It probably looked like she was calm, but I think she was just trying to hold it together." Absentmindedly he traced a pattern on her leg with his finger, "Not everyone wears their emotions on their sleeve you know."

"Not you too." Shoving his hand away Chelsea snapped, "I get it. I lost my head because I'm just a stupid little girl."

"I didn't say that." Max leaned forward, his voice filled with concern, "Why are you putting words in my mouth?"

Chelsea exhaled forcefully, the draft ruffling her bangs as she spoke, "I'm sorry. This is all so bizarre. I remember thinking I was in love with Daniel, but tonight it was...I don't know who he is. I never knew him at all. How stupid can one girl be in a lifetime? I broke Nick's heart, almost ruined my relationship with my grandmother and all for someone that I should have run from in the first place."

"That doesn't mean you're stupid. He was very good at lying. To everyone." He ran his hands up and down her arms gently, "He fooled me too, and I wasn't remotely in love with him."

Chelsea laughed when he mimed being horrified before winking knowingly at her,. His actions struck her as being absolutely hilarious and she laughed uproariously, her infectious giggles making Max chuckle as well. The noise drew the other couples into the living room, and after several moments Nicole asked wryly, "Could you two at least share the joke?"

"It's nothing. Just us being...us. Never mind." Noticing that Nicole and Brady's fingers were interlaced, Chelsea added, "How about you two, got something you want to share?"

Philip rested his chin on Chloe's shoulder as he spoke, "Looks like someone is going to need backup."

"Dimples, talk to him." Dropping Brady's hand Nicole said crisply, "He's crazy. I tried to tell him it wasn't worth the risk."

"Yes it is." Brady grabbed her hand, pulling her back against him as he added, "You're worth the risk."

Across the room Chloe twisted her head to look up at Philip, "Backup? You mean against EJ?"

"Don't worry about it." Brady commanded sharply, "I learned a few lessons from my Dad. Philip won't have to do a thing."

"I told you" He broke off when Brady caught his eye and shot a meaningful look at Chloe's pale tight lipped face, "...to be very careful."

Max glanced at the clock, "Any word from Sebastian yet? It's getting late." Just as he finished his sentence the bell rang.

"Well, there's some excellent timing." He squeezed Chloe's waist gently before stepping away to answer the door, checking the screen Philip said nervously "It's not Sebastian. It's Bo."


	23. Chapter 23 NC17

"Shit." Max's eyes darted around the room, "What do we do?"

"Nothing." Nicole sauntered over and took a seat on the couch, "We can honestly say we've been here the whole night. Sit down, look innocent and it'll all be fine."

Chloe took a deep breath, then walked over and sat next to Nicole. Waving at the others to join them she said softly, "Let him in."

Philip nodded sharply once, before turning to open the door. He made himself sound surprised as she said, "Bo, what's up? Did you find Daniel?"

"Not exactly." Bo stepped inside slowly, his eyes raking the living room. Noting the presence of the others he said caustically, "Interesting time to have a party. Interesting group too."

"We were just hanging out." Gesturing at the other two women Chelsea chattered her voice filling with anxiety, "Chloe got some really cute stuff in New York, and then when the guys got here they started talking. We were just about to leave when you showed up. Is everything okay? Is it Daniel again? Did you find him?"

Bo's voice softened, "Honey, I'm sorry. I know you've been worried about him. We...this is..."

"Say it. Whatever it is." Chloe leaned forward, "It's late. We know something is going on. Just tell us."

Bo took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as he spoke, "He was spotted tonight driving a car that we believe was stolen. The officer instructed him to pull over, but Daniel refused to stop. There was a chase and...the vehicle went into the Salem River about an hour ago."

"Did Daniel...did you find him?" Chelsea's voice was barely above a whisper, but her father heard her.

"Not yet. The divers are there now." Clearing his throat, he continued "It rained a lot these last few weeks, so the river is running pretty high. It make take some time for the recovery teams to complete the search."

"Recovery teams?" Brady exchanged a knowing look with Philip, "Does that mean you're expecting to only find a body?"

Bo's eyes drifted to Chelsea's stricken face, "Maybe you should let Max take you home now sweetheart."

"No." She shook herself, "I want to know. Is he...do they think he's dead?"

"We don't know for sure, but given the height from which he fell..." He spread his hands, "It doesn't look good."

Chelsea's face crumpled as sobbing she turned toward Max. He rubbed her back soothingly pulling her to her feet, "Come on. Let's go."

Bo stepped aside to let Max guide her out the door murmuring as they passed, "I'll see you at home honey."

Brady tapped Nicole on the shoulder, "We should get going too. I caught a ride over here with him."

"Good night." Bo watched, his eyes cool while Nicole hugged Chloe goodbye, before taking Brady's hand to walk out. As they stepped past he grabbed Brady's arm, "Be careful."

"See? I told you. It's too risky. Even Bo can see it." Nicole chided as they pulled the door closed behind them.

"Did you need anything else Bo?" Philip walked to the door, "It's been a long night."

"Well, they never said subtlety was your strong suit." Turning to Chloe Bo added sadly, "I know this is cold comfort, but at least you know that it's over."

She nodded stiffly, her wide eyes fixed on Philip's face. He jerked his chin at Bo, "I'll walk you to your car."

Outside Bo turned to him, "What happened tonight? Chelsea only talks that fast when she's lying."

Philip let out a heavy sigh, pointing at the stack of takeout containers he said, "Dan was here tonight. He tried to break in."

"What? Why didn't call the police?" Bo's face reddened, "What happened to my daughter?"

"Nothing." Philip pulled the jammer out of his pocket, "Daniel used this to keep anyone from calling the cops. He scared the crap out of the girls, but he never got past those security upgrades you thought were too expensive."

"Philip, that still doesn't explain why Chelsea lied to me." Bo groaned, "What else is going on?"

"Sebastian was looking for Daniel. To hand him over to the police." He shrugged, "Chelsea may have gotten the wrong impression."

"You're lucky that there were witnesses." Bo growled, "Otherwise I'd have your ass in a cell right now."

"For what?" Philip's sardonic smile didn't reach his eyes, "Comforting my traumatized niece?"

With an angry snarl Bo stalked away, slamming his car door before peeling out of the driveway. Philip watched him go, before turning to pick up the boxes and take them to the dumpster. Closing the lid, he took a deep breath before making his way back into the apartment. Noting Chloe's silence he didn't say anything, instead going into the bathroom to fill the tub. He lit the few candles scattered around the room adding sweetly scented foaming bath salts before returning to the living room.

"Come on." He led her into the bathroom, undressing her like a child when she clung into his hand. Sitting on the edge of the tub he washed her gently, coaxing her into relaxing her grip on him. When the water started to cool he helped her out, drying her with a towel and wrapping her in a robe. She followed him into the bedroom, obediently crawling under the covers when he steered her toward the bed. Pulling off his own damp clothes, he slid in next to her holding her close while she cried.

Eventually her tears quieted and she drifted off. Hearing his phone buzz he slid away just enough to drag it out of his pocket, "Sebastian? What happened?"

"As I said earlier, I had no intention of failing you. With the police involved we can't get close enough to be absolutely sure, but I think Nathaniel's...other skills have worked in our favor. Ms. Lane should be untroubled from this point on."

"Thank you." Glancing at Chloe, Philip murmured "Bo Brady knows that Daniel was here tonight. When you speak to him..."

"I'll let him think our efforts were unsuccessful. Good night sir."

"Good night." Putting his phone away, Philip laid down and fell into a dreamless sleep.

The next morning he awoke to find Chloe staring at him, "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry about last night." She sat up slightly and pressed a quick kiss to his lips, "I didn't mean to shut down on you."

"It was a perfectly normal reaction. Yesterday, hell the last few days have been very rough on you." He stroked her hair, curling a piece of it in his fingers "Why don't you try to lay down and get some more sleep? I've got a meeting later, but afterward maybe we can get dinner at Tuscany?"

"How much later is your meeting? Do you have to leave right now?"

"No. I've got a couple of hours." He frowned, "Why? Are you still feeling a little shaky? If you don't mind being exceptionally bored by stodgy old men you can come with me."

"Come with you?" She smiled mischievously, "There are so many things I could say right now."

"You have a dirty mind." He opened his mouth to make a joke, and closed it abruptly as he felt her hand move under the sheet. He stammered, "That's...uhm...Chloe?"

She smiled at him coyly, bending to kiss him again and Philip's hands flew up to fist in her hair as they tasted each other. He moaned into Chloe's mouth when she slid over to cover his body with her own, his hands sliding down to cup her breasts. Tracing the outline of her nipples with his thumbs he smiled when she said breathlessly "My plan was to seduce you."

"You can do that later." He sat up, kissing his way down her throat and into the valley of her breasts while she arched her back to ease his exploration. Murmuring "Hell, I think you're doing it now." Philip chuckled when goose bumps appeared in the path of his mouth. Tasting her skin led him lower and lower until Chloe was on her back, her knees still bent under her while he feasted on her flesh.

"Philip...oh..." Her hands scrambling at the sheets, she let out a frustrated whimper when he moved lower kissing the inside of her thighs, "Now is not the time to play games."

A low chuckle was his only response, his hands moving to adjust her legs so that they lay over his shoulders. His trail of kisses reached her knees, and her legs shook in his grasp. Smiling against her calf when she tried to use her legs to urge him back down he said pleasantly, "I seem to remember mentioning consequences. Now be a good girl, or you'll have to wait even longer for your treat."

"You are so mean." She gasped when his hands streaked back down to her hips, molding her flesh even as his mouth reached her ankles, "And kinky, did I mention the kinky?"

"Your date with my knees isn't today." His hands moved to the inside of her thighs, "Unless you want it to be, though that might make dinner a little difficult. Those chairs at Tuscany are kind of hard."

"Bastard." She grabbed at his arms as he slid a finger into her, "Oh God. Philip....please?"

"Patience." His eyes hooded, Philip crooked his finger inside Chloe, tapping gently while she writhed under him, "You made me wait a very long time."

"That wasn't..." She broke off as his hand slid away, "Philip?"

He winked at her, as grabbed her hips again and lifting her into position. "I suppose I am being a bit mean." He smiled when her head fell backwards and her body spasmed around him. Feeling her muscles clench, he let his rigid control lapse as he gave into his body's rhythm. Pleasure so intense it bordered on pain burned through him and he collapsed onto his side next to Chloe. When she curled against him, he said softly, "There, was that so bad?"

"You'll never be able to scare me with consequences again." She turned her head into the crook of his neck, "In fact I think I want to skip dinner out."

"That sounds like a plan." He sucked in a lungful of air, "I'm trying to figure out a way to skip this meeting."

"No, you know you need to go to work." She kissed his throat, "I'll be here when you come home. I'll even make dinner."

"Home." He sat up, pulling her with him "That sounds nice. Is that what we're doing? Moving in together?"

"Technically you already did." Chloe's brow furrowed, "Unless you don't want to? I didn't mean to push or anything I just thought..."

He laid his finger on her lips, "I was just asking a question. I would love to make this permanent, but I wanted to make sure you could stand living with me and my video games."

"As long as you don't expect me to watch Wednesday Night Football I think it'll be okay."

"You'll never have to worry about that...since it comes on Monday nights." He chuckled when she pulled a face, "So what are thoughts on breakfast? I think it's my turn to cook."

"Breakfast sounds like a wonderful plan. Especially if it involves cinnamon rolls." She slid out of bed, "But I'll make it. You have to get ready for work."

Philip grinned at her as she grabbed one of his t-shirts and threw it over her head before pulling on a pair of pajama pants. He took his time getting ready, humming quietly as he shaved. To his surprise the smell of cinnamon rolls didn't greet his nostrils when he sauntered into the living room. "Hey, what happened to the food?"

"I'm sorry. I'm afraid entertaining me has distracted Chloe from her gastronomical pursuits." Victor commented from his perch on the couch, "I'm sure breakfast will be ready soon."


	24. Chapter 24

His eyes fixed on Victor, Philip called "Chloe, are you okay?"

She stuck her head through the kitchen doorway, "I'm fine. I'll start breakfast while you two talk."

"Did you think I'd killed her while you were showering?" Victor snorted derisively, "I'm not a monster."

"Why are you here?" Gesturing at the kitchen, Philip added "I'm well aware of your feelings about Chloe. I told you, Daniel was no innocent."

"Neither are you." His jaw tightened, "I know what Daniel did. I was wrong. But he could have gotten help. What...why did you kill him?"

"I didn't. His car went over a bridge while he was running from the police." Philip's eyes were cold, "Seems he wasn't able to control that car that he stole last night."

"You forget that I hired Nathaniel." Victor waved his hand dismissively, "Regardless, the situation is resolved. Your little...friend is safe. So, when will you be coming back home?"

"I am home." He smiled, "We've decided to see where this goes."

His face inscrutable, Victor didn't say anything for several minutes. When Philip shook his head wearily and turned to walk into the kitchen he murmured, "Just like that you're ready to take her back? Why?"

"Why not? I love her. She loves me." Stepping closer to his father Philip added, "I don't want to spend the rest of my life like I spent the last 6 months. We have another chance and I want to take it."

"Breakfast will be ready in a few minutes." Chloe called from the kitchen doorway, "Will you be joining us?"

His eyes flat Victor said crisply, "Not today. Perhaps you two can join me for dinner later this week?"

"Sounds great." Chloe walked into the living room, a bright smile fixed on her face "Philip and I would love it."

A look passed between the two men, leading Victor to reply slowly, "I'll have Henderson make something special Friday night."

"We'll be there." A tight smile on his face Philip added, "Mom should be back in town by then, right? We can have the whole family get together."

Victor nodded his assent, and after a brief handshake and a long measuring look at Chloe he let himself out. Once the door closed behind him Philip turned to her and asked gruffly, " You okay? What happened when I was in the shower?"

"Nothing. He was at the door when I came out of the room. We talked about...well nothing really, just idle chit-chat and then he heard the shower stop. He apologized for coming by so early, and said that he had something to discuss with you."

"You're sure that's it?"

"Yes. He was actually polite for once." She shrugged, "Maybe he's decided to turn over a new leaf. Stranger things have happened right?"

"Maybe." A frisson of unease ran up his spine, "Well at least there'll be a buffer at dinner. I'll make sure Chelsea brings Max, and maybe Brady will bring Nicole."

"Oh that'll be fun." Chloe pulled a face, "I think he hates Nicole more than anyone else."

"If she's there, he'll be too busy snapping at Brady to mess with us." He laughed, "And then he can make snide remarks to Max until Chelsea gets mad and Mom starts yelling at him."

"That's...very smart." She frowned, "Slightly diabolical. Are we really going to use everyone else as a shield every time we see your father?"

"Not every time. But this time? Oh yeah, I think he needs to see Sami and Lucas together and put our relationship into perspective. Think of Friday as the night he realizes that I could be involved with someone who was actually bad for me."

Laughing at the mental image of the impending dinner party from Hell they went into the kitchen to eat breakfast. Once Philip had left for the day Chloe made her way into the bathroom to shower and get dressed. Musing quietly to herself while she did her hair, Chloe found her mind wandering to images of their future together. When she pictured herself pushing a little tow headed girl in a swing while Philip swung a laughing dark haired boy in the air she muttered "Talk about jumping the gun." before jabbing a final pin in her hair and hurrying out of the apartment.

Across town while Chloe fumed to herself about getting her hopes up, Philip sat in a strategy meeting with Brady and tried to keep his mind on business instead of letting it wander to the way it had felt to have her in his arms that morning. When he shifted in his seat for the fourth time Brady smirked, "Should I take this meeting alone? You seem a little preoccupied."

"Dad came by this morning. We're all going to have dinner together on Friday." He smiled, "You should bring Nicole."

"She's got enough on her plate without Grandpa yelling at her." he glanced at his watch "Today's going to be a rough day."

"You're not going to be there when she tells him?" Philip leaned forward, "That's a terrible idea."

"That's what I said, but Nicole insisted that she has to do this alone. She's supposed to call me when it's done."

"So, you have Sebastian waiting outside?"

"Nathaniel is outside with the car." Brady's eyes darkened, "I wanted Sebastian to go inside and pretend to be her attorney, but she refused."

Despite his misgivings Philip patted Brady's hand "She'll be fine. Nathaniel will make sure of it."

"Easy for you to say...Daniel's dead."

Philip's eyebrows winged upward, "Last I checked EJ wasn't on anyone's list of favorite people. I imagine you could arrange for him to shuffle off. Of course that decision could have major consequences..."

"I wasn't serious." He grimaced, "I know what happened to Daniel wasn't...I know he was responsible for what happened to him. And I know you're not happy about it. I'm just worried about her."

"Nicole's tough. And EJ's still obsessed with Sami. He'll yell and maybe make a few threats, but I'm sure she'll be fine." Tempering his voice to hide his nervousness, Philip said "Come on, let's get ready for this meeting. The sooner we're done, the sooner you can go check on her."

While they tried to work Nicole was pacing the living room at the DiMera mansion. She glanced at the bags by the door several times while she whispered to herself "Just come right out and say it. Hell it'll probably make him happy. This way he can chase Sami to his heart's content. I'll just tell him straight out and get it over with in one shot."

"Tell me what?" EJ's voice from the doorway startled Nicole, whirling to face him she tripped and nearly fell onto the couch prompting him to lunge forward to grab. As he helped her regain her footing he asked, "What's got you so jumpy?"

"I...uh...we need to talk." She pulled away from him, wrapping her arms around herself as she spoke "Things aren't working out and I want us to do this while we can still be on good terms."

"Do what?" He looked past her to the pile of luggage, "Not this again. I told you I'm not letting you take my daughter from me."

"I'm done letting you dictate my life." A tear trickled down her cheek, "I don't want to take anything from you. I just want myself back."

"What is that supposed to mean?" EJ grabbed her arms, "I'm getting very tired of these melodramatic little moments that you've become so fond of lately. We made a commitment to each other and you will honor it!"

"Wait, so I'm supposed to sit here and play the dutiful little wife and mother while you treat me like crap and chase after Sami?" She snorted derisively, "You've got a funny idea of commitment."

"How many times do I have to tell you that the only relationship Sami and I have is based in our shared parental duties?" He let go of her, running a hand across her face as he snapped, "You're being ridiculous. Again. These childish tantrums need to end. Immediately. Aside from being tiresome, they are based in utter insanity."

"Do you listen to yourself when you talk to me?" She poked his chest angrily, "I'm not a child. Nor am I a cross for you to bear while you pine after someone else. This isn't working. I'm not happy, you're not happy. That's just the nature of the beast. Why can't you just accept that this has to end? If we do it now? It could be quick, clean...it'll be less painful all around EJ."

"Less painful for who?" His voice trembled, "You want to leave me. Take my daughter... you've decided that you're done playing house and I'm just supposed to accept you destroying this family? I don't think so."

"I'm destroying this family?" Her hands fisted in her hair as she let out a scream of frustration, "I don't know where you've been but this...this is not a family. We were almost one, but then Sami came back and you turned into a tyrant and I can't do anything right as far as you're concerned. Families full of miserable people aren't families in my book."

"What would you know about a family? Grabbing Nicole by the arms EJ shook her roughly as he snarled "It's not like you're the voice of authority. Especially not with your background."

Nicole gasped out, "I know this isn't what I wanted for my daughter. I got enough of my father beating my mother to last me a lifetime." before she wrenched herself away from his grasp. She scrambled across the room to the doorway, finally coming to a stop by her bags.

EJ reached out an arm pleading, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to....please, don't leave. Not yet. We can fix this, I know it."

"Paul used to say that too." She pushed up her sleeve to expose the reddening skin of her biceps, "Do you know that with my background I can tell you exactly long it'll take for these to turn purple? I even know how to apply makeup so no one will notice the bruises through a sheer blouse."

"Nicole I..." he took a ragged breath, approaching her slowly he said softly "Could we sit down and talk? Just for a minute? I won't touch you or try to stop you from leaving. I just want you to hear me out."

"What else is there to say?" She tried to pull down her sleeve, wincing when her fingers brushed against a particularly painful spot, "This whole thing was a bad idea right from the start. Let's just cut our losses."

"I frightened you. Scared you so badly that you want to run out the door right now just to get away from me." He moved closer, smiling disarmingly "I understand that. But, I don't want us to part on those terms. Please, sit down. Let me try to make amends. I see now that I've done an abominable job of taking care of you."

When he took another step toward her Nicole flinched and murmured sadly, "I don't think I can do that right now EJ. Please, I just want to get my things and go find a place for us to live. Between last night and this morning...I'm just not equipped to talk this out right now."

"Last night?" He frowned, "I wasn't aware there was a problem last night. We didn't even see each other."

"I was at Chloe's when Daniel turned up and tried to break in." She laughed bitterly, "I spent most of last night with a knife in my purse pretending I wasn't terrified. I don't think I can do that today."

"I had no idea." He toed at the carpet, his voice rueful "I have a feeling I've missed quite a lot lately. Please, we had something good once. Let me try to fix it. I know you said you can't face a conversation right now. How about I go out for a few hours, you go upstairs and rest and we talk this afternoon?"

Before she could formulate a response he dropped to his knees in front of her, "Please, if you ever loved me...give us a chance."

Biting her lip nervously Nicole said softly, "I did love you. But I don't think you loved me. And when you hear what else I have to say...you won't want me to stay here. There's something I have to tell you."


	25. Chapter 25

"What do you mean she hasn't come out yet?" Brady gestured for Philip to enter his office while he snapped into the phone, "Are you sure she's okay?"

"Nicole's still talking to EJ?" Perching on the edge of the desk Philip said mildly, "Well maybe that's a good thing."

Brady listened to Nathaniel for a few more minutes before hanging up the phone and turning to Philip to say, "EJ's not going to let her leave. I was afraid that this would happen when I let her go back into that place."

"Look breakups can take some time. And they've got to work out custody issues too right? I mean they have a kid together, maybe this is just them trying to get that part hashed out. I'm sure he still wants to see his daughter."

"She's not his daughter." Brady massaged his temples with one hand while he pounded the other on the desk, "Shit, I'm not sure I was supposed to tell you about that part."

"Wait, she's not EJ's daughter?" Philip frowned, "Who was Nicole with? You weren't back in town yet and I didn't think she was fooling around with anyone else."

"She wasn't." Brady grimaced, "You can't tell anyone about this until she's out of that house."

"Scout's honor." Philip raised his right hand, "I'll keep her secret."

"She had a miscarriage. A really really late one." Staring at his desk Brady continued, "It almost killed her. Not just losing the baby, but there was so much blood and she was...it almost killed her. EJ was out of town, and by the time he came back she'd gotten it into her head to adopt a baby and never tell him. She found this girl through her doctor, some teenager that wanted to give up her child and with a little...sleight of hand she pulled it off."

"Oh. Oh shit." Philip got up and walked to the window, "Please tell me that she's not planning to tell him about that today."

When Brady remained silent Philip said caustically, "You might as well send Brandon a condolence card right now. EJ's going to kill her when he finds out. And that's a kindness compared to what he'll do to you."

"Shut up Philip." Glancing at the clock Brady said tersely, "If she doesn't call me in ten minutes I'm going over there."

"No you're not." Philip sighed, "If you show up it'll just set him off. I'll go. He won't be expecting me. With any luck I'll be able to get him to let her walk out without a problem."

"Philip, if you get hurt...Chloe will kill me." Brady let out a heavy sigh, "But you're right, if he sees me I'll just make him angry. At least take Nathaniel inside the house with you."

"Yeah, that and a bazooka should help." Turning toward the door Philip asked, "Where were you two planning to live? I know you weren't taking her back to the house."

"The penthouse. My Dad made some new security arrangements when I told him what was going on."

"Okay. We'll meet you there." He paused to stare Brady down, "Do not go anywhere alone. I'm going to let Sebastian know that you two will need a security detail. Try not to get kidnapped, chipped, brainwashed, or turned into a frog while I'm gone."

"Very funny." As Philip stepped over the threshold Brady grimaced and hurried after him saying, "I can't just sit around waiting to find out if she's okay. I'm coming with you."

"Didn't we already discuss why that's a bad idea?"

"I'll sit in the car." When Philip's right eyebrow winged upward, Brady added "This way no one can turn me into a frog."

Shaking his head and chuckling Philip led the way to the garage. As they split up to get into their respective vehicles Philip muttered to himself, "I hope your Princess is worth it."

At the DiMera estate, Nicole edged backwards out of EJ's reach as she blurted "I had a miscarriage and I didn't know how to tell you. I found this girl, a teenager with a pregnancy she didn't want and couldn't afford. I offered to take the baby, raise her as my own. She's..."

"You're lying." EJ snapped, "Spinning this ludicrous story so I'll let you leave, but I can see right through it. See right through you. This is about your "friend" Brady isn't it? Let me guess, he's been more than happy to devote his full attention to you."

"Brady has nothing to do with this. EJ, I'm telling you the truth." Hugging herself tightly Nicole whispered, "She's not your daughter. She's mine. Legally and emotionally if not biologically. But she's not really a DiMera."

EJ surged to his feet, his hands flying up to rest on the door; pinning Nicole in place as he spoke, "I know you're lying. And I can even understand why to some extent. You're so scared you're trembling and now you think that you need to protect her from me. I would never intentionally hurt either of you, but I know you don't believe that right now."

"EJ..." She broke off when he raised his hand away from the wall, her eyes welling up with moisture.

He smiled ruefully as he stroked his thumb across her cheek, "Dry your tears Nicole. I'll let you leave today, and I'll even let you take the baby with you. For now. But we're not done with each other. I plan to see my daughter every day."

As he stepped away Nicole opened her mouth, but before she could force out a response the doorbell rang. She fumbled at the knob, nerveless fingers refusing to cooperate. Finally EJ stepped close enough to pull it open to reveal Philip and Nathaniel.

"Nicole?" Philip's concerned gaze skated over her pale face, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." her eyes cut sideways to EJ, "Now. I have to get the baby and we can go. I'm all packed."

"I'll help you with her." He smiled blandly at EJ, "Nathaniel will be happy to help you take their bags out."

"Don't think I'm threatened...or fooled by your presence Philip. Brady too afraid to face me like a man?"

"I'm not afraid of anything." Brady drawled from the shadows, "I just don't see a point in talking to you. In fact I was going to wait in the car, but then I decided Nicole could use a friendly face while she escapes this snake pit."

EJ's lips tightened before he said coldly, "So melodramatic. I have no idea what women see in you. Then again, by all accounts it doesn't take them long to figure out that they could do better. Right Philip?"

"I'm not playing this game with you." He glanced at Nicole, "Get your daughter so we can get out of here."

Nicole managed a quick nod as she turned to hurry up the stairs. Brady started after her, and EJ sneered "So eager. They are my family and they will be coming back home to me."

"Do they teach that voice in evil villain school or something?" Nathaniel cocked his head to the side, "All you're missing is a monocle or a hairless cat to really complete the picture."

"Don't forget the smoking jacket. Something in crushed velvet or brocade." Brady commented as Nicole came into view with the baby cradled against her shoulder. "I'll take her."

"It's fine, I've got her." She replied, nervously glancing at EJ's face she added softly "You weren't supposed to be here. This is just going to make him angry."

"Angrier." Brady said with a grin, "Pretty sure he knows that you're never coming back to this hellhole again and he's pouting about being lonely."

"This is their home." EJ smiled tenderly, "My girls will be back here before you know it." He stepped forward, "Can I at least say goodbye?"

"Of course." She bared her teeth in a quick nervous smile, "This is for the best. You'll see."

He brushed a kiss across Nicole's knuckles where they rested on the baby's back before pressing a kiss to the child's head, "I know you believe that right now. Hopefully when we talk tomorrow you'll see reason."

"This is the first time in months she's seen reason. Stay away from them." Brady reached out to steer Nicole away, his fingers coming to rest on her bicep. She flinched away from the touch, almost losing her grip on the baby and Brady's grip tightened reflexively in an effort to steady them both. Seeing the pained grimace shoot across her face, he said "I'm sorry I didn't realize I'd grabbed you so hard. Are you okay?"

Philip and Nathaniel exchanged a look, and Philip gestured for him to escort Nicole and Brady out. Once they were out of earshot he asked "What happened before we got here?"

"That's none of your concern." EJ replied crisply out as Philip stepped between him and the door.

"You know, ordinarily I'd agree with you. But, Nicole and I have gotten to be friends. And I have a bad feeling that when she takes off that shirt tonight, Brady's going to see bruises." When EJ's eyes flicked away, Philip let out a heavy sigh "Ordinarily I'd kick your ass myself, but I don't want to deprive him of the pleasure. Unless you want to wind up in a hospital bed tonight, I'd suggest you find some business to do out of town. Way out of town."

"I messed up, but that's not going to make me run away." He squared his shoulders, staring Philip in the eye as he said "It was an accident. Nicole knows that. We'll work it out."

"You never met Paul, but I got to see some of his handiwork up close and personal. She's not coming back." Philip shook his head, "And even if she did, how long before you had another accident?"

"Never."

"Keep telling yourself that one. But don't expect anyone else to believe it." Philip walked out, slamming the door behind him.

Alone with the silence and his guilt EJ's bravado crumpled. He pressed his hand against the door, before turning to make his way to the bar. He poured himself drink after drink, gulping them down frantically before abandoning the glass in favor of drinking directly from the bottle.


End file.
